Hunting for the success and fame,
for the appreciation of the poet
hiding in me,
somewhere.
.
Every time I get close—so close—
the wind changes,
carrying my scent toward the prey,
and it gets away.
.
I almost grasped it.
I've wounded it a few times,
followed its bloody tracks
until I lost the trail.
Again.
.
Day by day, I sell pieces of my soul,
my time, and my talent,
for crumbs of acknowledgement:
a nod of a head,
for a cent here and there,
a passing word of praise.
.
As if I truly believe
that one day someone will care.
.
And what then?
What do you with your catch
once it's between your hands—
so you don't fully crash it?
About the Creator
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Comments (12)
The ending question is brilliant what happens after success, Thought provoking and wonderfully crafted.
"Day by day, I sell pieces of my soul, my time, and my talent, for crumbs of acknowledgement:"- love the wording of this bit, and pieces vs crumbs stuck out to me when I read it again. I like the awareness of the "tortured artist" shtick, and perhaps a nod to Vocal itself in a way?
Love your use of meta-awareness between the lines, Imola!
Imola, this piece has had me thinking since you posted it— the idea that we sell off parts of ourselves for a glimpse of connection. I am SO thankful for this platform, you, and all of the other friendly faces I’ve met since joining. But I’d like to pose a thought to you. Maybe we aren’t the hunters. Maybe we’re actually the prey. We give pieces away, and somehow they find their way into others that are hunting for words to make sense of their every day lives. I’m so jealous of you poets. You’re modern day philosophers. Give me pen and paper and I’ll tell you a story. *You* get pen and paper and you get people thinking. Thank you so so much for this piece 😁
This one hits close to home for a lot of writers, I think. You’ve captured that constant tug-of-war between passion and exhaustion so well.
Good job and I believe all writers and artists feel the same way. The chase is always on.
Well-wrought! The ever-present dilemma of desire is that in fulfilling it we only tend to desire more.
That's a good question at the end. We chase it for far too long and when we finally get it, what then? That was so deep!
This doesn't just sum up being a writer, Imola, it sums up life. We all get that "so-close-yet-so-far" feeling, and it can weigh heavily indeed. Well said, and a great entry for the challenge!
We all feel this...we all build our satisfaction on the approval of another, I guess that is how it goes. The more we write, the better we feel about writing for ourselves and not the exposure. Nice take on the challenge
I think an elusiveness in artistic pursuit can be a good thing. But it can be hard to stay motivated when we’re told to measure our own merits by engagement. Some of my very favorite art is from the walls of Goya’s apartment, discovered after the fact and presumably never intended for the public eye. I think writing can be similar— a process and an effort of expression, for one’s self. Once it’s shared it might land well with other, but even if it doesn’t resonate with anyone it was still worth creating.
This is very relatable. Now, I just write to hoon my writing skills, so I finally published a book I am proud of. Sending hugs 🥰