When a thought appears

the poet scrambles

to write it down before it vanishes

like a ghost in the night

it is fleeting

a will-o-wisp

it has no legs to steady it

it is only a blurry image

a temporary apparition

it can fly away in an instant

so the poet knows

he has only a short time

to catch the mysterious thought

and turn it into a poem

he must be fast

he must be able

to quickly convert that thought into words

and then have it make sense

before it disappears again

and shows up in some other

haunted mind.