No more tortured artists,

no more mythos of misery,

tragedies played out

like a trade-off,

as if the muses

demanded teary sacrifices

to necessitate

their whispering into unsuspecting ears

and the leading of

hands across snowy fields

of blank pages

and empty canvas,

in order for us

to find our

words in the dark.

___

SAM LESEK lives in Toronto, Canada. She usually writes speculative fiction and poetry, but she really just works with whatever words her mind gives her to string together. Her writing has recently appeared in 34 Orchard, Rune Bear Quarterly, and Star*Line. Find her on Twitter @SamLesek