Parallel Paths of Creation (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: One thing I love about being a writer is that the places we visit can inspire our works. We can experience new destinations, and then use what we’ve learned when creating tales about various characters.]

I wanted to bring a character on a quest

      through a vast field dominated

             by wildflowers…

    …so         I visited a field within a 15-minute drive

             of my house

         where poppies bloomed in hues

             from bright yellow to deep crimson

                  Each flower swished

                        against my ankles as if

                 I walked among waves

                            that lapped a shoreline

                        with every breath of wind

              Meanwhile        

                   the cloudless      blue skies stretched

                              in reflective serenity

                           Then       a chorus of honks sounded

                                and I watched a flock of geese

                                     sail past overhead in V-formation

                                           off to the lake            

                                                   just beyond the field….

                 ….

                      ….

                           …

I penned a scene that evening for my character

      where she moved among the floral visions

                               (such as I had seen)

                          watched them dance like waves

                          noted the tickle of petals on her skin

                  and gazed toward the skies where birds sang

                     then she moved onto the bank of a lake

                                 there to lay down for a time

                                         and enjoy the setting

                                              before her journey continued