Dying
I have NO IDEA why this post sat completed in my drafts while the deadline for the Distractions challenge came and went... I think I was (possibly ironically) too distracted by being ill and that's how I missed it. Anyway, I have a question: why does getting a terrible cold set your creativity on fire? (PS. I am all better now.)
Dying! I'm dying.
Ill. I'm ill. I'm huddled under a blanket, writing more than I have in weeks.
Sniffling. Sneezing. Stuffed up. Snorting snot into a tissue. Shuddering. Sinuses sizzling. Squinting through streaming eyes.
Tap tap tap typing away. Twists of tissue tucked into my nostrils.
Reading back what I wrote. Reeling with every cough.
All my neurons fizzing, joints aching.
Congested. Coughing. Cursing my nose, clawing at it. Creative. Clacking the keys furiously before the ideas slip away.
Tea, hot and black, with honey and lemon.
Is the cold a distraction from writing, or is writing a distraction from the lurgy?
Oh! to tear out my sinuses, root and stem
Nose red raw, stories bleeding out of me, between naps.
+++++++
Thank you for reading!
As always, I appreciate feedback and do my best to reciprocate reads 😁
If you enjoyed this and you're bananas enough to be hankering for another poem, try this one. Or, if you prefer something that rhymes (I don't blame you) this one. My usual wheelhouse is fiction though - here is my second favourite story I've submitted to Vocal 😁
About the Creator
L.C. Schäfer
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I'm not a writer! I've just had too much coffee!
Sometimes writes under S.E.Holz
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More stories from L.C. Schäfer and writers in Poets and other communities.
Thou Shalt Not Set Fire to a Nunnery
"You're going to have to help me move the body." Julie stood in the doorway to my room, which was a cell really, and she was as close to breathless as I'd ever seen her. She looked dashing in the moonlight, and lit up with the glow of adventure.
By L.C. SchäferExclusive • about a month ago
Standing While Falling
Quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche "He who wrestles long with monsters should beware lest he himself become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. Man is not destroyed by suffering, but by the meaning he makes of it."
By LUCCIAN LAYTH6 days ago in Critique
Comments (14)
There is something incredibly frustrating about blocked sinuses and a runny nose! I'm glad you are feeling better!
Heyyyy, I'm so happy you're doing better! Cursing my nose, that was so relatable! Loved your acrostic!
Good u are better now! I’ve always got old things in drafts just sitting there doing their thing! 😁
Lol. That's great. I'm glad you're feeling better. Oh, and tearing out your nose, root and stem might hurt. I do not recommend.
I'm glad you're ok.
I hope you sprayed that keyboard. lol Seriously, I'm glad you're recovering. Welcome back!
So pleased you're all better now L C. I seem to get most creative with poetry when I'm feeling strong emotions. However, those same emotions stop me from writing fiction altogether. How weird is that? Bravo to your (albeit cold-induced) creativity! 💕😊
So glad you’re back in writing shape, LC! Bummer this wasn’t submitted for the distraction challenge - these visceral descriptions are awesome! Not even going to retype my favorite line, about your sinuses because it freaks me out, but in a cool body-horror way 😂
So much snot. I wondered where you'd been. I love the image of tissue twisted up nostrils. We've all been there. Hope you're all good.
Spot on description of having a bad cold! I can’t say that having one gets me to write, though. Interesting super power. 💖 Welcome back! 😊
Glad to see (and read) you back! Could feel this one! Being ill sucks. Get better! And if you already did, get even more better than better!
A glorious return! Sorry to hear that you've been unwell :( This poem was awesome! Especially the "nose raw" line, that's always what I remember from being sick lol. When it gets painful to blow my nose
Welcome back! So good to see you writing again. Sorry you've been ill. Hope you're recovering/recovered now. This...was awesome
I love this! I have some type of sickness now (not sure what) so I completely relate.