One never seems to realize the burden
That comes from wearing your thinking cap–
Allow me to elaborate just a little further
And tell you what I mean by that.
Could that the space and time in the universe
Be condensed into a single pod of peas,
So is the tedium of streamlining thoughts
Into words, like a coherent being–
And I am demonstrably not–
I lose my train of thought,
I make errors, I leave work incomplete;
How is it that the thinking cap was handed over to me?
Take the painting of Abigael, for instance–
As poised as she looks, I can’t help but shudder
At what seems to be the weight of her hat!
I could never be as graceful as that.
Facing one way for hours on end–
And how different is writing down your thoughts, really?
Stiff, and unmoving, and unblinking;
All so she could be immortalized in history!
Once again I ask–
How different is writing down your thoughts, really?
It demands every ounce of devotion,
And attention to detail I could never achieve.
To the world outside, I’m some brilliant wordsmith–
Oh, how very wrong they all could be!
I’m just another impostor with a little bit of wit,
There’s not very much to me.
And yet, I scrounge up whatever thought
The thinking cap leaves me to work with,
It’s inconsequential, but shallow it is not;
It’s the burden of the thinking cap, and I bear it.
~© Shubhangi Srinivasan.
Today’s resource via napowrimo.net is the online collection of the Harvard Art Museums, and the prompt is to write a poem inspired by a single detail in a painting. I chose this portrait of a woman named Abigael Bromfield Rogers, who is sporting a rather comically large hat. I have often wondered how people back in the day had the patience to sit and pose for their portraits. Did their noses not itch? Did they not get sweaty or squirmy sitting in the same position for hours? Did they not feel their body stiffen up after sitting in the same manner for such a long time? So many questions! But that hat! It gave me the inspiration I needed for the poem today.
I know it’s called a ‘thinking cap‘ and not a ‘thinking hat‘, but you know? Artistic license.
The act of writing itself requires just as much patience as posing for a portrait, if not more! Of course, the difference is that a poet is always the artist, and the person whose portrait is made is always the muse. What an observation, indeed! But the point remains that writing takes a lot of effort, and people often think it isn’t much work because, in their minds, all people do is sit in front of a device and just pour their hearts out. Oh, if only I could jot it all down in actual words how difficult it is to coherently streamline our thoughts into something that we know is going to be read by people. Why do you think so many artists think their work isn’t all that great?
Anyway, as we near the end of the NaPoWriMo season, I just want to point out how amazing it has been to focus solely on art and music, this month. I’ve always turned to art and music when times got rough, and this entire month has felt like writing a love letter to both. What a beautiful experience it has been!
Three days to go! See you with a new poem tomorrow?
Yours truly,
The Shubhster.
If you like my poem, please do leave a comment or follow my blog! I write a lot of random but interesting stuff, and I try to keep it real. I’d love it if you went ahead and checked out more of my work, while you’re still here. If you think someone you know would appreciate the things I write, feel free to share my page with them! You can also reach out to me on my Twitter or Instagram handles. I always appreciate seeing new people come up to me and tell me they like what I write! It doesn’t happen as often as I would like for it to, but let’s change that, maybe?
This has been day 27 of 30!
See you tomorrow?
Cheerio! Xx
The Shubhster Diaries 
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