How to Read Big Magic

The others
sailed through the small sea of leaves
happy and smiling,
carefreeing it along,

​there I was,
hung up
like whole row of commas
in boldface,

  all

    the

      way

        through

until it was done
and I
was changed.

And, honestly…
I would tell you what it was about
or what was my favorite part
or why I loved the book’s journey
if only I remembered
that way.

But, I can tell you this –

Go to any store that sells paint.
Stand in front of all the colors.
​Let one pick you.
Buy it.

Let it rest overnight in a forgotten room 
and get up the next morning ahead of the world.

Ask the paint “What now?”
Listen quietly
for as long as it takes.

If it says “Spin me in circles please”
never say “I don’t know how”
-just do it.

If it says “whisper me across the plane”
don’t ask “What plane, where?”
-just do it.

If it says “set me on fire”
swallow your gasping “that’s dangerous!”
-just do it.

If it says “let me stay right there,
smudged under your right eye for at least a day”
just do it-

This paint that picked you
will tell your story.
​
That is where the big magic is.



This poem was a response to a Tweetspeak Poetry prompt
​by Heather Eure: Lose Yourself in a Book. 

​The inpiration book: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert