After Reading Enough to Jump-Start My Muse on a Cold Day Near the End of January

After Reading Enough To Jump-Start My Muse On a Cold Day Near the End of January
by Helen Losse

I begin to write
and hope to create
that which I do not see.

The words come slowly
as though partially frozen,
the world being January-cold.

The sun tries but mostly fails
to make a difference
in a world that is gray and brown.

The winter world doesn’t impress
my faithful muse, Helena,
who believes in the blue jay

and the peeking tips of bulbs
but will never endorse
faith in Groundhog Day.

Author’s Comment: I know that a poet (or any writer, for that matter) should read more than write, but I felt as though I was doing little of either, so I started reading poems by Tim Peeler in a couple of his books that I picked up at one of his readings. Peeler is so comfortable being a poet; his language is unpretentious, so Helena—that’s my muse, who has appeared in a few other poems—felt comfortable joining us. This morning I figured it was time to write, and the words came quickly, so quickly in fact, I think I probably lifted—although unconsciously—the line, “who believes in the jay” from Jane Mead. Much of the poem fell into place, and the part than didn’t was tweaked into line by Scott Owens. So with a bit of help from Helena and my support staff, I think I ended up with a nice little poem.

Bio: Helen Losse is the author of four collections of poems, including Seriously Dangerous (Main Street Rag, 2011) and Better With Friends (Rank Stranger Press, 2009) and the Poetry Editor for the online literary magazine The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. Her recent poetry publications and acceptances include Main Street Rag, Iodine Poetry Review, Willows Wept Review, Referential, The Pedestal Magazine, ken*again, Hobble Creek Review, and Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont.