Mother Muse Lord lanre THEARTOFWRITING

At the beginning of my literary odyssey, I decided to move to a beautiful village to mold myself into a writer. I felt I would be in touch with nature in the village The humdrum of the city had so filled my ears that I wasn't hearing the silent tunes of nature So for three weeks, I stayed in a cottage made of mud bricks and a palm-thatched roof. The place was run by a sweet old lady whom everyone called Duchess Mother

The night I arrived, there was no electric power. The air was still and hot So all the other guests were lying on mats in the middle of the compound I sat in a corner studying by a desk lamp under the open sky. The Duchess' Mother lay on a mat close to the entrance I noticed that she was uncomfortable and restless. I thought she couldn't sleep because of the hot weather.

She stood up abruptly and flashed her torch along the wall from one end to the other, staring intently. I paused in my study and watched as she peered into the guest rooms, the shower room, and the kitchenette.

I resumed my study as she went back to lie on her mat Suddenly, she sprang up, torch in hand, and walked toward me. " There is something dangerous lurking somewhere in the dark " she said half to herself Then she flashed the torch at the wall behind me and on the ground around my desk. Gleaming in the glow of the torchlight under the table was a black scorpion!

I was amazed at the motherly instinct of the Duchess Motherand stared at her in wonderment. "That's the way a mother is " She said in response to my question " A mothercannot sleep until she is sure that her children are safe. I don't think men understand that a woman is a savior." She said.

I befriended the Duchess Mother and was wrapped up in the supreme power of mother's love. For this little old woman, love is above everything Whether she was in the best of moods or the worst, everything she did was always in the spirit of love.

B efore leaving the village, I resolved to be feminine in my writing. Not to be effeminate or unmanly. I just didn't want to be this onedimensional writer, unable to reflect feminine energy. I wanted my work to always be motivated by love.

I am convinced that the influenceof a mother can contribute to making one a great artist. A mother has the extraordinary gift of pure love whichcan transform the world.