Jose Padua: For the Famous Writers School and All the Hungry Years to Come

By the time my
mother had placed
the ad from
The Famous Writers School
on the dining room
table for me
to see—
the ad that
asked “Are you
one of the quiet
ones who should
be a writer?”—
I was already on
my way to being
less quiet;
already,
in my slow and
steady manner,
on the way to
becoming a writer.
And though the ad
was rather silly
and The Famous Writers School
yet another institution
I didn’t completely trust,
I appreciated seeing it
next to my breakfast
that hungry spring
morning
so many years and
words ago.

—

Copyright 2015 Jose Padua

Photograph by Jose Padua