Inspiration is all around us. It comes to me through my
senses, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling, it is what moves me to
pick up a pen. Inspiration sends goose-bumps up my arms or chills down my spine.
It is a fleeting thing and I have to take notice before it is gone.
For example: After my mother had been dead many years, I
came across her perfume in a department store. The familiar scent brought back
vivid memories. “My mother was in that bottle…” I later wrote in a poem.
Another poem was inspired by an image. “Three beach girls spin
by on bikes… legs straight as stems…blond ponytails, a fan of sunflowers…descend
the gravel road…” This poem led me to recall my own youth, and many joyful days
spent with friends at the beach.
Inspiration can also be an aha moment. My autistic son,
Chase, ran track in high school. One day while watching him run a race I was
inspired to write the story, “Track Star.” Chase was a proud member of the
varsity track team. He told anyone that would listen that he was a track star. My
aha moment comes at the end of the story. “…Chase walks to the bleachers and
sits down. I hear him tell one of the kids, ‘I run varsity. I’m a track star.’
The kid smiles at Chase. I smile because he kept running right to the end. This
time he finished almost last, but there would be more races. The kids who come
in last learn the hardest lessons—how to run against the odds.”
Inspiration can come in conversation. A friend and I had
attended a poetry event at our local library. Speakers stood at a podium set in
front of a floor-to-ceiling window. The audience had a view of the vineyard beyond
the glass. A little bunny hopped about while we listened to each poet read.
Later I told my friend that I had enjoyed the program both the poets and the
bunny. “The Poet and the bunny, what a wonderful title for a children’s story,”
my friend said. I agreed and used the title later for a picture book project.
Nature is a great source of inspiration. I often take walks
down a nearby vineyard lane. To feel the warming sun, to hear birds call, or
see a field turned bright with yellow mustard. That is all I need for
inspiration. It’s waiting just outside my door.
What inspires you?
