in recent years, I've been telling stories again.
an old pastime of mine, really -
writing out the tales only I can fully tell.

my primary creative outlet was through putting pencil to paper,
fingers to keyboard,
and letting the words fly.

but the spoken word
now that, I've never dabbled in.

before now.

when I write,
I make the important decisions
unilateral command
alone

but leading a story
telling a story with other people
I create a world
a setting to explore

and they give it life

///

I'm not one for planning ahead
my friends know this well

I struggle with deadlines and guidebooks
my energy can be fickle and strange
and if I have a straight line to follow
I stall into knots when it turns

the path that I've found
is to not make a plan
but instead to prepare for the eye of the storm
and improv a path through the rain

and, somehow,
it's worked

I understand the larger story
and puzzle out fragments for the characters

so wherever they may choose to go
whether I expected it or not
I can create and be consistent with my own

roll with the punches or be knocked off balance

I've made my choice and lived