An Amusing Morning

By Paul Roberts

Monday morning blog time, but it feels like Monday mourning blaaagh time. That first cup of coffee did very little for my energy level, and the hot shower failed to ease my muscle tension headache, likely a remnant of the three Arsenic shows over the weekend. Too much Arsenic can wear on a fella.

Fortunately, fortune is smiling on me in the form of my own personal muse. Sitting beside me on the couch, beautiful, brown-eyed Cleo the Keeshond has somehow sent my memory back 50 or 60 years to a time in my youth when I learned of the mythology of the Muses. Perhaps one of those nine daughters of Zeus, each one gifted with a particular artistic talent, can inspire me on this grey Monday morning.

Calliope, eldest of the sisters, is the Muse of epic poetry, music, song, dance, and eloquence.

Clio (sometimes spelled Kleio) is the Muse of history - and thus the connection to my own Cleo.

Euterpe is the Muse of lyric song.

Melpomene is the Muse of tragedy.

Terpsichore is the Muse of dance.

Erato is the Muse of erotic or love poetry.

Polyhymnia is the Muse of sacred song.

Urania is the Muse of astronomy.

Thalia is the Muse of comic and bucolic poetry.

You know, there is such a thing as nine-sided dice. On days like today, when inspiration escapes me, I could actually leave it up to the Fates (more mythology there) to determine the direction of my writing. How cool would it be to roll the dice and discover it was a day to write a sacred song, or a love poem to Carol, or a story of my own family history (thanks Cleo/Clio/Kleio)?

And just like that, my tension headache is gone. My blog is nearly done. The sun is shining through the window - honest, it really is - and I have some direction for the next time I run into a creative writing snag. I want you to know, I went back and made some edits to this blog. I chose to change the phrase “was the muse” to “is the Muse.” It seems only fair to give those gals some credit.

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