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The Blank-Page Stage

I once embraced the blank-page stage,
when words would somehow always rhyme,
but now my brain shows signs of age,
and operates on its own time.

So now, I dread the clean-slate state
since often, the right anapest
remains elusive as I wait
until my brain has had a rest.

One rhyme, and then the eye-glaze phase
sets in as I wait for my muse
to grace me with another phrase,
but even she now needs a snooze.

Awake, but now an iamb-jam
must be dismantled to release
the couplets caught behind the dam
that blocks my unformed masterpiece.

This tied-together shoelace pace
makes it impossible that I
can beat my young self in a race,
but age brings depth I now apply.

I think, perhaps my new slow-flow
of works are better than they were
because my young self didn’t know
that speed makes every image blur.

.

.

Submission

We’ll know that we’re sinners in need of a Savior
once fully aware of our fallen behavior,
and when we have seen this, it’s easy admitting
that we need God’s help, but what’s hard is submitting,
although every outcome is constantly showing
we’ve steered by just going the way the wind’s blowing
expecting the wind will somehow have suggestions
concerning the answers to life’s deepest questions
which almost sounds wise when the wind that is present
is blowing a breeze that is cooling and pleasant,
but wind can be fickle from moment to moment
and when it decides that it’s time, it can foment
destruction and mayhem beyond understanding
and then send the vessel toward a crash landing,
but even amidst the debris and the rubble
we still grip the rudder that got us in trouble.

But if we can finally pry off our fingers,
completely releasing the pride that still lingers,
we’ll hear Jesus asking to come on aboard ship
and if we accept and submit to His Lordship,
He won’t shrink the weight of the burdens we’re lifting
or alter the wind so it somehow stops shifting,
but anxiousness and every fear that harasses
will all be replaced by a peace that surpasses
the outermost reaches of our comprehension
which is a great way to get our full attention,
then we’ll have His strength so we won’t keep attempting
to take back control even though it seems tempting,
which once and for all brings the realization
the Answer we’re seeking died for our salvation,
and then we’ll be able to shed the ambition
to steer our own rudder, content with submission.

.

.

Warren Bonham is a private equity investor who lives in Southlake, Texas.

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18 Responses

  1. Paul A. Freeman

    The Blank-Page Stage is indeed an interesting stage of writing. I’m finding that instead of writing the whole of a poem out at once in longhand, these days, if I have a couple of good stanzas I’ll type them out and see where the poem takes me. By the way, great last stanza. Slow and steady wins the day.

    Thanks for the reads, Warren.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      I do it the same way you do. A couple of solid stanzas pretty much depletes me before the batteries need recharging. The Hare retired a while ago, but the Tortoise always gets the job done eventually.

      Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks for the education! You never know what you’ll learn on this site. I’m going to try another couple using this style (although they’re likely to come slowly).

      Reply
  3. Cheryl A Corey

    Great turns of phrase in the first poem with “couplets caught behind the dam” and “tied-together shoelace pace”. I find that re-writing a poem can often provide a spark to move it forward.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      I haven’t gone from start to finish without a re-write in a long time. Re-writing anything is always frustrating, but I agree that it can be a great way of breaking through a logjam.

      Reply
  4. Joseph S. Salemi

    Well, whether you’re in the blank-page stage or the clean-slate state seems irrelevant, from the evidence of these two well-constructed poems.

    There’s a small sub-genre of poetry where the speaker claims inability or incompetence in some area, but disproves it by his skill in writing.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks very much for the kind comments! It would be great if things came together faster but at least they still seem to get there eventually.

      Reply
  5. Roy Eugene Peterson

    That is a great poem on the “blank stage” that has now encroached on my own mindset of writing poetry. My first New Year resolution is to once again find my Muse and write earnestly. Two sentences, such long verses in the second poem. I have noted your capability to continue a sentence for such a long time that makes your poems unique and masterful in composition. Happy New Year, Warren. We do tend to steer our own rudder, when we need a Master Helmsman to guide our mortal ship.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks for the comments! That reminds me that I need to work on my resolutions for the New Year. I had been toying with the idea of using more periods when writing to cut down on the run-on sentences, but I think I’ll scrap that one now. I definitely need to be a lot more thoughtful about submitting in 2025.

      Happy New Year to you as well!

      Reply
  6. Margaret Coats

    Warren, what cleverly rhymed names for different stages of the poem-writing process! And there is a real maturing process described by them, that holds this particular poem together. Still, I find that I follow you even better in “Submission.” After the poem on writing, the title immediately suggests submission for publication, but we’ve moved on to a more important kind of submission. Jesus asking to come aboard reminds us that we often and ultimately need Him as pilot. It alludes to the Gospel scene where disciples see Jesus walking on water–and He moves as if to pass them by, until they call to Him. Only then are they secure! Your long-sentence style, that nonetheless respects each line as line, is at its best here. A meditation to take to heart!

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thank you so much for the thoughtful read! There was no good reason to group these 2 efforts together other than the fact that they were written at about the same time. I did have that Gospel scene in mind when writing the second poem. I was also thinking of Blowin’ In The Wind where it seems that some people are happy to relinquish control of their rudders and let cultural winds blow them about haphazardly.

      Have a very Happy New Year.

      Reply
  7. Gigi Ryan

    Dear Warren,
    I love the rhyme scheme in the first poem. My favorite pair is the “iamb-jam.”
    I appreciate the window into your writing struggles. It can be tempting to assume others do not struggle with the process when I am usually only privy to their finished work.
    My writing process actually resonates better with the tossed about flow of your second poem as I try to get words to submit to my thoughts. Sometimes my poem gets away from me and seems to have a mind of its own. I am merely holding on and writing in the wake. The end result is sometimes better than my original plan, but sometimes not and I must go back to a blank slate.
    I greatly admire the way you have crafted the Submission poem. I enjoy the masterful long sentences and, even more the truths they spin out.
    Gigi

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks so much! I wish I could say that every spark of an idea led me to a satisfactory finished product but my trash heap is getting very high. I’m glad Submission hit home with you. That’s a tough area for me.

      Reply
  8. Brian A. Yapko

    These are both highly accomplished poems, Warren! I not only enjoyed reading them but found them highly relatable. Who hasn’t been stymied by that blank page and the need to get something on paper… fast. I like the conclusion of “Blank Page” which embraces a slow-down in the process since “speed makes every image blur.” Never try to force a flower to bloom.

    Your “Submission” poem in dactylic tetrametric ouplets is profound and powerful. Writing a poem of this nature in tetrameter couplets was a risk that paid off. I generally consider weighty subject matter best-served by longer lines which allow for complexity of thought to develop more easily.
    The shorter the lines the more risk there is of a sing-song effect in the reading — especially with couplets. But you navigate both of these dangers with great success. This may in part be to the fact that the dactylic meter lends itself so well to latinate multisyllabic words which suit the piece and the fact that there is a heaviness to the language which might have weighed the poem down had the lines been longer. Example: your lines:
    “…but anxiousness and every fear that harasses
    will all be replaced by a peace that surpasses
    the outermost reaches of our comprehension
    which is a great way to get our full attention,..”

    The language is chewy and complex. The fact that you use shorter lines make it digestible in a way that might otherwise be problematic. It gives those heavy multisyllabic words a bit of music which lightens them just enough. At least that’s my view. It’s a pleasure to see how you use language here — effectively and movingly. Warren, I think you should be quite proud of this piece.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks so much for the thoughtful and supportive comments! I had a lot of blank page stage moments in that one and got lost in the meandering structure quite often but I’m very glad it resonated with you.

      Reply
  9. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Warren, your cleverly crafted “The Blank-Page Stage” is an instant favorite of mine. You capture those challenging creative moments beautifully and I particularly like your deft use of internal rhyme to conjure terms that describe the condition. Superb!

    … and then you go on to write an accomplished poem with a profound message, proving all good things are worth the wait. Well done!

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thank you for the kind comments! Good things are worth waiting for, but the waiting periods are getting longer.

      Reply

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