Flicker Comes Knocking

Most mornings my husband and I watch the hop-strut dance of Stellar Jays, Magpies and Flickers in our backyard beneath the towering Fir. Peering from our kitchen window flickers sport festive red cheeks, black chokers upon their breast and speckled finery. Magpies strut their plump black/ white body with long blue-black tail. And oh! The Stellar Jays boast kingly crowns with shimmering blue feathers.

I have been working on my memoir, scanning through hundreds of articles and stories saved for my “one day” book. Where to begin? Sifting through the daunting number of stories I have written gives my doubting self another validation: I am a writer!

Each morning I push through trepidation as I sit to write my memoir. A 2’x3’ Bristol board hangs on my wall near my desk. Post-it notes stream beneath blue, dry erase headings as I work to determine the ‘container’ for my memoir. I cherish the little flicker of inspiration that returns me to the page each day despite the chaos, confusion, and lack of clarity I am feeling. Daily I remind myself what decades of writing has taught me: Messy chaos is part of the creative process. Just keep writing, Teresa.

This day as I sit at my desk writing, I hear a repeated rustling sound outside my door. A stray dog? A rat? I return to writing then hear an insistent Tap. Tap. Tap. Knock. Knock. Knock. I inform my husband - we have an intruder. Sneaking out our front door, I peer around the corner to the back door where the knocking is. As I peek around the corner the startled flicker - flying from his perch above our door – whooshes above my head.

I give thanks for Flicker the Communicator knocking at my door. I give thanks for the Flicker of Inspiration that – despite chaos, overwhelm and lack of clarity – draws me again and again to the page