University of Baltimore MFA student Ellen Hartley has a few questions for her readers…and herself. But she doesn’t take any of them too seriously!
DILEMMA
Does my life have direction?
What is direction? Do I have
a purpose? Is purpose
direction? Is direction
linear? Is linear
2-dimentional therefore
without
depth?
Can direction be linear yet deep? Am I
superficial? Why
does this question bother me?
(Why am I always asking questions?)
I feel
stuck
mired, rooted BUT wait
Doesn’t rooted imply stability & permanence?
If a rolling stone gathers no moss
is that a bad thing?
Who wants to be mired in
moss?
If the stone keeps
rolling it won’t
be mired in moss
on the other hand it won’t
be stable and permanent. I’m
baffled. If I give
the wrong interpretation mightn’t I be adjudged
psychotic
and get mired
In a straitjacket? Maybe
I’d better
stop
asking so many questions.
Would that be cowardly? Would you still
respect me in the morning?
Ellen Hartley is a nonfiction writer, currently enrolled in the MFA program at UB. When her career as a professional flutist failed to pay the rent, she became a lawyer and served as Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City. She has also taught at Towson University and written music reviews for local papers.
