Don't You Hate It When...

Don't you hate it when you come up with the perfect sentence/words/theme while you're nowhere near any location to jot it down? That almost happened to me this morning. I have an assignment for humorous poetry - not usually too much of a problem - but I've been mulling it over in my head for days now. I was just about to step into the shower when the first verse hit me. Leaving the water on, I went to my computer and jotted down the verse to the best of my memory - the words already flying away with every second's delay. I quickly typed the first verse, returning to my awaiting shower afterward.

My showers are usually closer to 20 minutes, but how often do deep thoughts
hit you while the water pounds on your body? 

So I now had the first verse and before jumping into my emails and my blog, after my shower was complete and I was dressed for work, I continued writing the poem. I now have verses two and three complete and am trying to discover where the composition wants me to go. I'll take more looks at it throughout the day and perhaps will have this complete by the end of the day.

Poetry holds additional challenges for me. Although free verse
exists, I prefer my poetry to rhyme and to have meter and rhythm. 

The initial verse, however, was not written down in the identical words that first had hit while waiting for my shower water to heat up. No - those initial words ... that catchy rhythm and meter and those cogs that fit together so well, shook and twisted as I walked the 20 steps from the shower to the computer, putting my Word program onto my screen and pulling out my keyboard. Does this happen to you too? It's frustrating. I have no good memory for words, only concepts, forms and colors. I know each person has their strengths and weaknesses, but for me it is word memory.

"The Scribe" by Arthur Szyk is painted in a medieval style, although
he was an artist of the 20th century. My handwriting isn't good
enough to make a living as a scribe. 

I would make a terrible herald or messenger in olden days. I also wouldn't make it as a thespian and, given my poor handwriting, I doubt I'd make it as a scribe. Even my hieroglyphics need work to become readable. My cursive writing is impossible and printing takes too long.

I began typing when I was ten years old and have felt more
comfortable with a keyboard than a pen since then. By using
a keyboard I can keep up with my thoughts. 

I am a keyboarder - and a very good one. For years I worked my way through college as a secretary or keyboarder. I worked in the Journalism and the Anthropology departments in the back rooms where it was just me, a typewriter, and various duplication machines. It might have been boring, but I was appreciated for the work I performed, I was undisturbed, and I got lots of experience that helped me land my first job for pay after I had graduated. My fingers could fly across the keyboard at up to 120 cpm with very high accuracy. My arthritis now gets in the way and slows me down (but I refuse to acknowledge it unless it gets painful or throws extra characters into my words). My speed and accuracy have certainly dropped, though.

I might have made a good chicken in a play, but keep the main role
away from me - I won't remember the script. 

I make a great background in plays and productions. Just give me a tree costume and let me stand as moving decoration and I'm in my perfect role. Word memory and accuracy is so difficult for me that I wonder why I had signed up for my Theatre 101 course when I was a college student. I'm grateful that I did, though, because I met Seth in that small auditorium and my life has been enriched as a result of his friendship, love, and continued support.

Talent and Genius - I liked this explanation a lot. 

When do your best ideas hit you? Are you anywhere near a computer or notepad? Are you able to grasp the tenuous thoughts and pull them into ordered rows of graphic patterns so that you can read them again afterward? Do you remember your words exactly so that you can write them down at a later time? Share your thoughts with me...