"Allegory of Poetry" by Lucas Auger‘Uninspired’ by Siri Espy The Society January 24, 2021 Culture, Humor, Poetry 13 Comments . I fear my motivation’s dead; there’s no one home inside my head. I’ve looked for it from dusk to dawn; I tell you, it is really gone! The situation is quite dire; my neurons will no longer fire. I worry that I’m up a creek while it’s off playing hide and seek. I’ve looked beneath the bed and chair but just can’t find it anywhere. I’ve searched for it so very hard perhaps it’s hiding in the yard. I’m lying idly on the couch and finding I am quite the slouch but there is nothing to inspire the energy, the burning fire. I’m thinking, with great trepidation it may be gone for the duration. It’s time to move, pick up the slack; please, motivation, hurry back! . . Siri Espy is retired from the corporate world, where her publications included two books, numerous articles, and innumerable reports and bullet points. Her varied career included stints as a psychologist, market researcher, college instructor, consultant, and health care planner and marketer. She lives in Greenville, North Carolina and has been published in Global Poemics with upcoming publications in Sparks of Calliope, Persephone’s Daughters, and Lighten Up Online. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 13 Responses Peter Hartley January 24, 2021 An eloquent description of a condition common to all poets from time to time, I imagine, and well written, it flows off the tongue. A cattle prod is my only suggestion to galvanise the torpid brain. Otherwise just wait, for inspiration will come. In fact it just did, didn’t it? Reply James Sale January 24, 2021 Very funny Siri – I enjoyed this very much; also, because I am still in the corporate world and run/own a company called Motivational Maps! We specialise in … motivation! Check it out: http://www.motivationmaps.com. And if you like it, let me know and we’ll send you a complimentary map code so you can find out a lot more about your motivations! It’ll be a pleasure, and hopefully then we’ll get the poem about your re-motivation! Reply jd January 24, 2021 Enjoyed and could identify, Siri. Thank you. James, if you are still reading this thread you should know, perhaps, that I clicked on your link and was led to “This domain name is for sale”. Reply James Sale January 25, 2021 Ah! JD – thank you for spotting the error: it should be http://www.motivationalmaps.com – when you are typing fast it is easy to make these mistakes! Again, thanks for spotting the error. Reply Joe Tessitore January 24, 2021 Very cool and very well-written! I really enjoyed and identified with it! Reply Yael January 24, 2021 That’s a cute poem and very entertaining. I love the dichotomy between the subject matter and the presentation, great job! Reply Julian D. Woodruff January 24, 2021 Somehow concise and crisp at the same time. Somewhat Nashian, maybe? Zip trumps motivation! Reply Julian D. Woodruff January 24, 2021 Oh gosh! Laconic, that is. Or maybe just concise. Reply Mike Bryant January 24, 2021 Oops Reply C.B. Anderson January 26, 2021 Siri, this poem is seriously funny. Yes, most of us have experienced the problem you describe at one time or another, but few of us have managed to record the situation so crisply. It’s almost impossible not to like this poem. If I were to describe it in one phrase, that phrase would be: thematic perfection. Reply Christopher Flint January 26, 2021 Your work no doubt speaks to a very commonly perceived problem. Your idea is clever, but to me the repetition of “I” and “it” tends to be tedious even though typical of someone with such a complaint. I would suggest reducing such dependence, but a lot of other folks don’t seem to be bothered. Just a thought for whatever it might be worth. Reply C.B. Anderson January 27, 2021 Yoiks, I don’t know what to make of that attempt at a sonnet. I’m sure you can do better. Reply Christopher Flint January 27, 2021 I don’t recall alleging a sonnet had been created, and I would ordinarily welcome more specific criticism, but I assume you have rightly withheld it because such discussion would certainly not be fair to the author being addressed here. It would be ideal if the site also facilitated private discussion, but in that absence, I will accept your unspecified astonishment in good faith as reason to reexamine the text. It was a comment, not a submission for publication. I was not seeking, and have no desire, to divert attention from the work to which I spoke. I have separately asked Mike to remove it along with the text immediately preceding it. Leave a Reply to Julian D. Woodruff Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Peter Hartley January 24, 2021 An eloquent description of a condition common to all poets from time to time, I imagine, and well written, it flows off the tongue. A cattle prod is my only suggestion to galvanise the torpid brain. Otherwise just wait, for inspiration will come. In fact it just did, didn’t it? Reply
James Sale January 24, 2021 Very funny Siri – I enjoyed this very much; also, because I am still in the corporate world and run/own a company called Motivational Maps! We specialise in … motivation! Check it out: http://www.motivationmaps.com. And if you like it, let me know and we’ll send you a complimentary map code so you can find out a lot more about your motivations! It’ll be a pleasure, and hopefully then we’ll get the poem about your re-motivation! Reply
jd January 24, 2021 Enjoyed and could identify, Siri. Thank you. James, if you are still reading this thread you should know, perhaps, that I clicked on your link and was led to “This domain name is for sale”. Reply
James Sale January 25, 2021 Ah! JD – thank you for spotting the error: it should be http://www.motivationalmaps.com – when you are typing fast it is easy to make these mistakes! Again, thanks for spotting the error. Reply
Joe Tessitore January 24, 2021 Very cool and very well-written! I really enjoyed and identified with it! Reply
Yael January 24, 2021 That’s a cute poem and very entertaining. I love the dichotomy between the subject matter and the presentation, great job! Reply
Julian D. Woodruff January 24, 2021 Somehow concise and crisp at the same time. Somewhat Nashian, maybe? Zip trumps motivation! Reply
C.B. Anderson January 26, 2021 Siri, this poem is seriously funny. Yes, most of us have experienced the problem you describe at one time or another, but few of us have managed to record the situation so crisply. It’s almost impossible not to like this poem. If I were to describe it in one phrase, that phrase would be: thematic perfection. Reply
Christopher Flint January 26, 2021 Your work no doubt speaks to a very commonly perceived problem. Your idea is clever, but to me the repetition of “I” and “it” tends to be tedious even though typical of someone with such a complaint. I would suggest reducing such dependence, but a lot of other folks don’t seem to be bothered. Just a thought for whatever it might be worth. Reply
C.B. Anderson January 27, 2021 Yoiks, I don’t know what to make of that attempt at a sonnet. I’m sure you can do better. Reply
Christopher Flint January 27, 2021 I don’t recall alleging a sonnet had been created, and I would ordinarily welcome more specific criticism, but I assume you have rightly withheld it because such discussion would certainly not be fair to the author being addressed here. It would be ideal if the site also facilitated private discussion, but in that absence, I will accept your unspecified astonishment in good faith as reason to reexamine the text. It was a comment, not a submission for publication. I was not seeking, and have no desire, to divert attention from the work to which I spoke. I have separately asked Mike to remove it along with the text immediately preceding it.
