Chasing the Muses: Calliope and Polyhymnia

In Greek mythology, the Muses are the goddesses who guided the writers of literature and the creation of arts. Many classical writers like Homer, Plato, Virgil to William  Shakespeare, John Milton, Alexander Pope and their contemporaries is said to have sought the help of these muses.

There actually nine of them: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia and Urania. But for now, I am specially trying to chase Calliope and Polyhymnia.

Calliope is the chief the muses while Polyhymnia is the muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric. The reasons are as follows:

I have been trying to write creatively for the past days but I just can’t push myself. I don’t know did I keep my creativity. I can’t find it. ‘Tis is not the time of the year when I am really into writing; though, I am writing daily in my journal but those are not long entries, just a sentence or two.

I want to write about leadership or about places or current events but I can not find something worth writing. Nothing interest me this time. I was also trying to write a poem but I can not find the right words.

Moreover, Prof. Joy Nilo is asking me to write lyrics for a hymn. I know I can do it, I have tried writing songs before but Polyhymnia is nowhere to be found. I still wish I could write the lyrics within the week so it would be included in the album he is about to produce.

Before, writing is a pleasure, it was a life for me but this time, it has slowly become a task. I am writing but not the “writing” I want — business letters, communication, concept papers, programs and the like. No essays, no poems. I miss the days when I compose at least one poem a week or an article a day.

I want to bring back the life of my pen. I may really need these muses to accompany me into the journey of writing. I need some inspiration or emotions. Perhaps, boredom.

O muse, where art thou?