The Poem of the Month (March, 2010): WRITING

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'Writer's block' is a jargon used by writers. It is the situation of a writer, who, for some reasons, lose his or her ability to write -- that is, no writing is produced. There may be physical (health condition, busy schedule and so on) or psychological reasons for it. Writer's block can range from temporary to long-time. Accomplished writers may also suffer from this condition. Many writers can get over this situation and start writing again. There are few writers who can't get over their writer's block; they completely stop producing any more writing.

In the late '80s, I was facing a kind of 'writer's block' for a time due to busy schedules. At the time, after much coaxing from the editor, I produced the above poem in Bangla (Bengali) and it was published in Doel, a collection of mini-poems, in Dhaka. I provide below the English translation of it.

Writing

By Jerome D'Costa

I want to write.

I will write.

I will definitely write.

But I can't write.

I just cannot write.

I cannot write at all.