PAUSE

On the days my writing is a megaphone, right here is where I'm saying what I want to say. Loud and clear.

On the days my writing is a metaphor, over there is where I'm implying what I want to say. Circumspect.

Most days I know "what I want to say" thanks to the English Teacher in My Head. The English Teacher in My Head tells me how to write in a wow-inducing way and tells me to mind my commas. The English Teacher in My Head tickles me, taunts me, grants me gold stars, kicks me in the solar plexus. She's moody and flighty. But she's also smart.

Sometimes she just wants me to listen, but I'm not always able. 

Are you able to just listen? 

Maybe you don't want to. Maybe you don't have time and just want to write. You have a goal, a deadline.  You pick up a pen, turn on your laptop. You keep your hand moving. You fill up pages. You say what you have to and want to say. You don't pause, you don't reflect.

Maybe by "you" I mean me. 

The English Teacher is telling me to stop, to sit. To listen.

And maybe by "English Teacher" I mean me.