The Discipline of Writing (a poem)

Leaving Seattle tomorrow. Found this poem I wrote back in 2011 while packing. Enjoy. 

###

The Discipline of Writing 

by Steven Lo

I woke up the other morning poised to write. (I heard it is in waking up every morning that one becomes a writer.) I didn't get to bed until pretty late, so when the alarm sounded, I was groggier than usual. 

But I am a writer, so I woke up anyway. I made a bagel with cream cheese, and honey, and since I was so tired, I made a double-shot latte--I knew I'd need the boost to extract the genius from my fingertips when I'd begin typing. 

I started writing the title to my new screenplay. R-E-A-C-H-O-U-T. But my eyes hurt from the glaring screen and I still had sleep in my eyes, so I took a shower. The water hitting my skin helped relieve the hurt from my eyes. "Now I feel refreshed," I said as I dried my face with the towel.

The screensaver was now flashing on my computer. It was a picture of my ex and me. I really miss her. I wish I hadn't seen the picture. Ooh! I thought to myself. Now I can include a relationship about loss and regret in my screenplay,

right after I read old cards and letters she wrote me. This will be gold for the story. So I re-read the letters. 

Then I checked the clock. Shit. Astronomy class in an hour and I haven't even studied for the test. So I pulled out my worksheets and browsed over some notes. 

Let me tell you. I am really confident in writing this when I say I did really well on the test.