Themes

I stopped writing for several years because I was sick of creating the same poems, over and over. I once watched a documentary which said that every Rabbi has one basic sermon that he delivers in myriad ways. I think this is true for all but the most genius of artists; one book, one poem, one song, done and repackaged countless times. "Please", I would think to myself before a performance, "Please don't make me read that again." So I stopped and immersed myself in the world of plants and animals in which the themes, while equally repetitive, somehow feel sparkling new with each observation. Each root or leaf pattern, coyote scat, seeds gathered in my hand, weed pulled, each moment of tranquility or fear, snake sighted, claw marks identified, is the first one, never seen before and never to be repeated after.

Back to writing now, I feel heaviness dogging my fingers; nothing new under the sun is a potential curse threatening each word.

The problem is, that even though I've written my themes into the ground, they do not go away. Here are my themes, that you may be forewarned: sex and love and the desperation they invoke in me, sleep and the lack of it, addiction (cigarettes and drinking, at present), Georgia the cat, family communication and drama, trying to be a more positive person, my body image and reality, and, hopefully more often, the unique sparking joy of life, my signature stamp of wonder and amazement at this unlikely gift of the world.

What are your themes?