Chasing Words

I hear them in my head; words that whisper yet I cannot catch the details of the whisper over the background noises. The words are out of reach. Very frustrating. 

Songwriters may hear the melody but not clear enough to write the chords. I listen late at night to the words buzzing through my head but just as the mosquito evades the swat, the words evade the light of thought. 

Chasing words so that the thoughts come out complete makes sleep difficult. Words are needed but when I cannot catch them to make my thoughts known to those around me, life is difficult. 

Words drift down the river of my mind, swirling in the eddies of memory, the current keeps them just out of reach. Fishers have the patience to cast the line to make the catch; enough catches and a sentence appears, then a few more and a paragraph, and maybe even a theme and a thought worth sharing.

Writers are solitary people for the most part, but when they cannot catch the words they need, they seek out others and listen to their words so they can begin to again shape their own.

Have you ever drifted down the river, without the words to help you navigate?