on hold in case of hunger

Gift snubs artist,
lives its own life,
sometimes in the same room with
its human habitation,
sometimes wandering alone
on empty streets,

or searching its host's fridge,
opening the door that lights up
what lives in darkness,
on hold in case of hunger:

its writ to gnaw, to grow,
eat artist out of house and home.

[Eleanor Ross Taylor {1920-2011} 'Gift' from Captive Voices]