The Muse

He is my muse...

... and in the myriad of things, I once was his. Today can I be philosophical and slightly deep? Hello single ladies, Beyoncé wave! How have we been? I am decent. Honestly, there's a lot on my plate but somewhere, somehow I've got to suck it up. Come round with your wine glasses. Don't worry, I'm not in my feelings.

Summarizing the week's new music releases, I went through John Legend's 'Wild' music video. As we know. John's wife Crissy is pregnant again. Boy has corona caused a baby boom! Every week there are pregnancy announcements on the timeline. Some of us, are feeling some type of way...baby fever, right? Well, not me, but the baby-making process, hell yeah! Wink! I digress, low key, I have been envious of John and Crissy's relationship. The man literally writes songs about and for his wife.

I remember my uncle's wedding (let's remember, the only uncle whom I speak of endlessly). He and his wife danced to Mario's 'I Choose You'. I got all in my feels. I didn't even catch the bouquet, meaning another season of being single. But my uncle and his wife are goals. She is the woman that he always loved. They are the epitome of soulmates. He married her with intention. To this day, he rides for her, and he adores her. Watching them together can make one lovesick, and green-eyed. Did I mention that he sang his hit song for her. It's a wedding song! There's something about being the object of somebody's affection.

As a writer, I understand the magic of the 'muse'. Carly Simon sang, "I bet you think this song is about you, don't you." Honestly, it's always about them. Ask Taylor Swift, Adele, Smokey Robinson, Drake, or anybody who's written, or made music. This very platform initially was about a certain somebody, however, we are evolving. It's the most therapeutic space for my predominately introverted self. I come alive, my voice is heard, and I can be vulnerable without judgement. Still, it would be an honour to be someone's muse.

 

Blessed is he whom the Muses love... , right away he forgets his troubles and does not remember a single care. Such is the holy gift of the Muses to men. - Hesiod, Theogony

 

The concept of the 'muse' dates back to Greek-Roman religion and mythology. Known as Mousa or Moisa (Greek, or Musa (Latin), muses in Greek mythology, are goddesses of the various arts such as music, dance, and poetry and are blessed not only with wonderful artistic talents themselves but also with great beauty, grace, and allure. In popular culture muses have come in all shapes and forms. From models to groupies, many creatives have been inspired by what they have called their muses. Vince Aletti said, "A muse can be a mirror: a reflection of the artist's desires, anxieties, dreams and needs."

A muse can be a mirror: a reflection of the artist's desires, anxieties, dreams and needs. - Vince Aletti

I have been sitting on my poetry for a long while now, yet to publish. The first collection had two muses - Genesis and Mr. X. Don't even look at me like that, I told y'all that I'm an open book when we are here. Yes, the two inspired the penmanship in my anthology. It's amazing how words would just flow from my head to the paper. Emotions expressed as they direct the telenovela of my life, particularly in the matters of the heart. But you know what, I would love to be someone else's muse. The idea of inspiring a love interest to tell their story about you. To be the reason that they want to aspire to be the best version of themselves. To be more than just a phone number, but an imprint even in popular culture. 

Here's my story...Mr. X is my muse. I know we agreed that he's Voldermot and there will be no mention of his name. But lately, my inspiration for literally anything has been dead. There was something about the tumultuous emotions with him that inspired creativity. As I say this out loud, I hope that my love interests won't read this. Look none of them are my Crissy Teigen "All Of Me", John Legend right now. Okay, we do appreciate the fact that I'm none existent to him, fair and fine. But not being crazy, somewhere, somehow I did inspire something in him. He did used to steal my content for his show - like copy and paste, and profit. All the ladies who smashed him during this period can send me my royalties checks. You're welcome!

The real question is, do we cut off our muses at all? Would you be comfortable if your love interest's muse was somebody that he used to know? Yet their brilliance comes out, and probably allows you a comfortable life or whatever? Here's me trying to justify my amusement by my 'muse'. To quote the late, Karl Lagerfeld, "I have my permanent muses and my muses of the moment." Clearly, we know the permanent muse for most of my work. How did we get here though? Truth be told, I never let go of my muse. I have lied to everybody including myself about some sort of awakening and unlearning. In the past few months, and a little assistance from the lockdown, me, myself and I had a tete-a-tete. I opened my old diary with some of the poetry inspired by him, and I remembered. The me in him that reflected and roused a woman whom I wanted to be, and so much more. And that's the woman, I am becoming slowly.

It's not much about having my muse in my life, it's the inspiration to my drive. It's made me a better woman, enlightened, mature and even happier. Now that's out of the way, we continue with our journey to becoming. As I said, while yes we desire to have these amazing halves of our love story, we discover our parts of the contributing chapters. Again, Ariana Grande's, "Thank you, next", offers a perspective that it doesn't have to be ugly. And yes, it didn't turn out to be what you wanted, but you are so much better.

I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to better. - Frida Kahlo

Here's to being the one who evokes and conjures the ballads, poetry and novels in your love story...

...the love of thyself!

A prochaine fois!

P.S.: Always write your own love story!

Ciao!

Lady