Photography © Jennifer Matthews

 

Ernest Hemingway Attends a 12-Step Program

Concerned about his elderly patient’s depression and declining health,
Dr. Hamilton recommends a 12-step program,
so Ernest reluctantly attends Compulsive Writers Anonymous.
I don’t want to spill my guts
like all these so-called writers,
like a bunch of women,
he reflects.
The meeting secretary, a young woman with shining eyes,
turns toward him.
“We have a new member today.
Would you like to share?”
About to refuse, he thinks,
Oh, what the hell. Just play along.
But it spills out of him.
“I’ve had writer’s block for the past few months,
and if I can’t write,
I might as well be dead.”
He clenches his fists, lips stitched taut.
Loud gasps, then a pool of silence.
“Would you like some feedback?”
Robert, a lean older man, asks.
Ernest shrugs. “OK,” he finally concedes.
Robert’s soft eyes embrace him.
“Take it one day at a time, Ernest.
You’ll probably start writing again eventually.
But even if you don’t,
you can still enjoy life.
I’m a recovering writer.
I tend my garden and play with my grandchildren.”
Ernest glares at him.
“Maybe that’s OK for you, pal,
but I once wrote A Farewell to Arms,
and now I can’t even write a damn sentence.”
A wave of self-pity crashes over him,
and he tightens his body
to keep tears from erupting.
Robert walks over to him.
“I loved A Farewell to Arms.
Such powerful writing!
Can I give you a hug?”
Is he a fag? Ernest wonders.
But a hug would feel good right now,
even if he is one of those.
Ernest sighs. “Yeah, go ahead.”
He leans into Robert’s arms,
writer’s block a hazy memory.

 

Ralph Dranow works as an editor, poetry teacher, and oral historian.

Poet/Photographer Jennifer Matthews’ poetry has been published in Nepal by Pen Himalaya and locally by the Wilderness Retreat Writers Organization, Midway Journal, The Somerville Times, Ibbetson Street Press and Boston Girl Guide. Jennifer was nominated for a poetry award by the Cambridge Arts Council for her book of poetry Fairy Tales and Misdemeanors. Her songs have been released nationally and internationally and her photography has been used as covers for a number of Ibbetson Street Press poetry books and has been exhibited at The Middle East Restaurant, 1369 Coffeehouses, Sound Bites Restaurant in Somerville and McLean Hospital.