Making of..."DAYLIGHT SAVINGS"

Hey. Although I love to write, I've often found it very difficult to write from a perspective other than my own. Meaning that all of my material has been personal and from the heart. This isn't a bad thing. I love reading honest writing and I love creating it. And all writing has to be inspired by different experiences we've had anyway.

Look at "Rocky". Stallone wrote this amazing screenplay about a boxer who received a one in a million opportunity to prove how talented he was. But there were so many parallels to his own life: An unknown talent who no one believed in yet somehow had the opportunity to star in a small movie in the 70's that become enormous. I mean, that's probably more improbable of a story than the actual movie. But there's an example of great art having been influenced by the creator's life and dangerously close to appearing autobiographical. I'm sure there's a smarter example, but hey, that's mine.

But I digress!

It's just that I keep trying to write at least certain material that doesn't read as autobiographical. It's challenging because my best stuff is from the heart. But I continue to make attempts to write about topics that I'm not feeling at the time.

"Daylight Savings" is that attempt. When I started writing the poem, I wasn't in the mood to write about the highs and euphoric feeling that love brought. I wasn't feeling it at all! I just wanted to do break up pieces because that's what my heart was feeling at the time. And although I really love the way those pieces turned out, I felt the need to challenge my emotions and force myself to write about that love. I believe that truly great and diverse writers can take their own opinions and feelings out of the equation, and out of their work. It was so tough. I tried my hardest to put myself in a place where I could embrace that feeling. I used the metaphor of daylight savings which sort of kept me interested. I hate the time change in the fall. It's always been a dreadful time for me. Trees die. It gets darker earlier. Baseball ends (especially for the Mets). When I was young, school started. Worst of all, it got colder! So since all that is right around the corner and I'm kind of dreading it, that was a good starting point for me: Comparing the feeling that you receive from this loved one to spring time and when the dark nights last a bit shorter. How this person limits those dark times like daylight saving time!! GET IT?!?! The finished product is much better than it sounds. It also includes things like losing track of time because you're just that enamored with this person, and how calendars and alarm clocks are not necessary or relevant with a love that strong. It's very much idealized and less about reality. I'd say it's more about that honeymoon phase and the feeling at its pinnacle.

I must say that I'm glad that I decided to test myself with this, because not only did it come out pretty good, but it was very therapeutic. Rather than just dwelling on one topic, it opened up my thinking and helped me realize that feeling this way again is not impossible. Not by a long shot. And it gave me something to look forward to. Not that I'm rushing the process of love. It happens when it happens and it cannot be forced. But it opened my eyes to the obvious: That there is definitely a silver lining and daylight savings will come once again.

Thanks.