The Wordsmith

Let me tell you a story

Word by word

A pen on paper

Fingers tapping on a keyboard

Writing the rough sketch as thoughts form

Bringing memories to the surface

Previously dormant

Now awakened by an idea

A spark kindled leads to a flame ignited

The page emblazoned with wildfire needing to be tamed

I layer on the details like the painter

Picking colors from the palette

Mixing metaphors and syntax

Highlighting language

Adding nuances of clarification

Smudging meaning and tone

Composing the tale

Maybe another anecdote here

A parable here

Have I laid out all there is

Now I step aside and let it ruminate

Solidify into marble

A block of raw material

But it is not set in stone

Now my pen is a chisel

Carving away the excess

Chipping through the striated layers

To reveal the deeper meaning at their core

The heart of the matter

Subtracting, honing, fine-tuning

Editing and discarding the extraneous

Repetitive phrases and themes

Leaving thoughts behind in the dust

Sculpting the mass of words into shape

Polished, glistening

The true story revealed