Writers so often face a dilemma when wondering how much of themselves, their inner feelings to reveal in their work. "If I write this, will people be shocked? Will they think less of me if they know who I truly am inside?"
Too often we self-censor. A brilliant piece of writing stays within the desk drawer because it is too risky. Because it reveals too many secrets. And how sad because it might just be one of the strongest things we've ever written, torn from the heart.
Local poet Leong Liew Geok lets a neglected poem hidden in a desk drawer have ITS say!
Closet poem
To fret my life in a drawer for papers -
Lying low because you think me
Too naughty, too wicked to show
Myself in public. Though whole
In face limb, torso, you shun me
And shut me out. There's more to you
Than meets their eye. Admit it:
The nakedness of what you
Scrawl within scares you away.
For each part shaped and deserted,
You owe me some share of what you own.
You know I'm yours; unlock my dark
or burn me up, you coward;
I live for light.
2 comments:
Isn't writing all about spilling the beans? Writing gives us an opportunity to tackle all that is unspeakable in our lives or in the lives of those whom we know.
Michael Chabon said, "Literature, like magic, has always been about the handling of secrets, about the pain, the destruction, and the marvelous liberation that can result when they are revealed. If a writer doesn't give away secrets, his own or those of the people he loves, if he doesn't court disapproval, reproach and general wrath, whether of friends, family or party apparatchiks... the result is pallid, inanimate, a lump of earth."
Love the quote and thank you sincerely for it.
Yes, writing is indeed about spilling beans ... You need to take risks. But scary ...!
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