A poem re craft prompt: First Draft

[debriswoman]

Character: Dr Watson
genre :poetry
Word count: 153
Title: First Draft
Rating: General



First Draft

He lists the ingredients used in each remedy;

Quantities marked in illegible scrawl;

Adding his signature…just as illegible;

Blotting the paper…the last of them all.

He sighs, looking down at his medical manuscripts;

Varied prescriptions; each column, each row.

Accurate records, precise, reproducible… 

Nothing creative, no narrative flow.

He puts them aside, neatly stacked alphabetically;

The pharmacist’s lad will collect them all soon.

He studies his pen, notes the wet-gleaming  residue;

No visits post clinic; a quiet afternoon.

He reaches across to an old leather journal;

Ink-spattered and battered and scuff-marked with use;

He stokes up the fire in his cosy consulting room;

Grey skies, rain on windows; the perfect excuse.

He picks up his tale, where he left it a week ago;

Loses himself on the moor…his first draft…

A glimpse of a man on a tor, and the silvered moon.

Physician and writer who honours his craft.
~0~

 

 

Comments

[smallhobbit]

The perfect look at Watson the writer - enjoying the ability to be creative rather than clinical.

[debriswoman]

Thank you very much :-)

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

A beautiful rendering of Watson and his two crafts. I like the rhyme scheme; it flows so easily.

[debriswoman]

Thank you
Really pleased you liked the rhyme scheme:-)

[scfrankles]

Echoing Okapi - I do so love the rhythm of this. And I'm rather taken with all the contrasts within your poem. Watson's prescriptions are both precise and illegible, the room is cosy and the weather outside is rough, and most importantly Watson is both a man of science and a man of letters.

[debriswoman]

Thank you very much…and yes, a balance of skills :-)