Enter The Muse

For some writers, true inspiration can be drawn from almost anything. It just takes a very active imagination. But a lot of us appreciate it when that inspiration comes from a secondary source that helps up unlock some great writing. Some writers can be inspired by something they read or watch on television, while some of us prefer to draw our ideas from personal interactions. I usually take my inspiration anywhere I can find it. I always carry a notebook and pen with me, so I can write down whatever is running in my head before I forget it. But even I’m willing to concede that nothing gets my blood flowing faster than a good muse.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people, and just interacting with them inspires more writing from me than anything else combined. When I meet someone new and inspiring something seems to click, and not in a lustful way. It’s an actual admiration for this person and a desire to remain in their company as they ignites your imagination and in turn fuels the creation of some amazing work.

Tonight I experienced that moment of glorious inspiration. I attended a group function at a pub, and met a lot of new people… which is why I do this, to get out and interact and not be such a fucking hermit all the time. It was during this event when I met someone that blew my mind and left me almost speechless, which is impressive because I am the prince of small talk. I have the gift of gab, inherited from my father.

I was afraid to talk to her during the function, but bumped into her when things were starting to die down. Her name is Tara, and we had a pleasant but short conversation. She’s from a city just outside my own, runs her own small company, and seemed rather impressed with what I did too. I thought I might have been hitting above my level, but I’m happy to saw I got a friend request from Tara and an offer to maybe meet another time for coffee.

Here’s the thing, even if I never see Tara again… just the memory of this enchanted encounter will inspire great works of poetry and fiction for months, maybe even longer. A good muse just sticks with you and I’m feeling that vibe right now. I will try to take up Tara on her offer, hoping she’ll remember when I try. For now I’m experiencing a little bliss and will try to transfer that into words and put them to paper/screen. My muses are not always women, but most of them turn out to be, so sue me for being the hopeless romantic that I am.

The last time I experienced this kind of muse inspired dedication, it was two years and a month ago. That day I attended a party in Toronto that I was invited to. I met an stage actress that was one of the female leads of the Evil Dead musical, and making her acquaintance blew my socks off. I wrote a lot of poems about her, and that opened the flood gates and now I’m less than 20 poems away from finish my next book of sonnets. I even went to see her perform the previously mentioned musical and I had a bloody good time, literally! She still inspires me, but and that was just from one meeting. Imagine if I saw her all the time?

This is why I am excited to have met Tara. While I’d like to see her again, part of me understands that it might not happen like some muses of the past. I understand that the artist/writer in me is happy just to have made her acquaintance at all, even if this might the only moment I have the pleasure of her good company. I’m unsure what the future holds, but I have another reason to wait with excited anticipation of what might be.

Regardless, I had an enchanted moment tonight… one I will work hard not to waste.

Peter