"Sing, O Muse..."

By Paul Roberts

“Sing, O Muse…”

In ancient texts, this was the traditional invocation, a request to one or more of the nine muses of lore to inspire the writer.

My request this morning to Alexa to “Sing, O Muse” was met with some confusion on her part, but she handled my request to “choose a number between 1 and 9” with her characteristic aplomb and assigned to me the number seven. So I followed up with a seat at my computer and whispered “Polyhymnia, muse of sacred song and eloquence, sing to me.”

Five minutes in quiet meditation, sitting in front of my computer waiting for the inspiration for today’s blog to come. The external quiet of the pre-dawn morning was similar to the internal quiet of my mind. Nothing sacred, nothing eloquent appeared on the horizon of my thoughts.

“Poly? Are you there?”

“All the time,” she replied. “I wait each day, and when you ask, with earnest patience I approach the task. Don’t you hear my song? I am always near, but time is what it takes to hear. You think I sit in pensive pose, a vision given you by those who sought my song in ages past. Not I, but you must hold on fast to the belief that I always sing. If you take time to hear it ring, you’ll hear a song roll loud and long. Put thought to page, then you belong.”

Well, that was fun.

Not necessarily sacred, and of doubtful eloquence. But the only way to get to writing that might be sacred, that might be eloquent, is to be willing to put thoughts on the page. Many of the descriptions of Polyhymnia have her in a “pensive pose,” with her fingers to her mouth. I suppose that makes sense, since I found myself sitting at my desk like that during my “quiet meditation” this morning. But I think a more accurate pose for any of the Muses would be with feathered quill scratching on parchment.

So, writers, take some time for your pensive pose if you must, and then…just write.

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What’s a writer to do when there is no inspiration? Share some ideas that work for you.
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