200 Followers In Under 2 months, Thank You! / Musings & Original Poem

Dear Steemians,

I want to take a moment to give thanks for your encouraging presence & warm support.

54 fateful days ago, my crypto-curious wife (a financial analyst) suggested that I try out Steemit. "You're on Facebook and Twitter all day," she said, "why not check out this new social media platform where they actually pay you to create and curate?"

Truth is, despite a combined following of around 10K on both platforms, I was phasing out of the former and using the latter as a kind of quotation notebook --- still, I thought Why Not, I'll give this a try...

In my mid-forties and something of a technophobe, I admit to being somewhat intimidated trying to figure it all out.

Actually, I was terrified. And, not just by the new technology, but at the prospect of starting, again, as a 'minnow' after I'd been more of a 'whale' in my world—already established in my career and with several, critically-acclaimed books under my belt: https://www.amazon.com/Yahia-Lababidi/e/B0042SRQWG

Here I was starting from scratch, as though being reborn or arriving at a new planet. I also admit, I found the prospect exhilarating. It felt like I was quitting my job, leaving behind family, friends, home and country to head off to the Unknown --- something that I actually did, around 12 years ago, when I left Egypt to come to the United States and begin a new life.

Dawning by Yahia Lababidi

There are hours when every thing creaks
when chairs stretch their arms, tables their legs
and closets crack their backs, incautiously

Fed up with the polite fantasy
of having to stay in one place
and stick to their stations

Humans too, at work, or in love
know such aches and growing pains
when inner furnishings defiantly shift

As decisively, and imperceptibly, as a continent
some thing will stretch, croak or come undone
so that everything else must be reconsidered

One restless dawn, unable to suppress the itch
of wanderlust, with a heavy door left ajar
semi-deliberately, and a new light teasing in

Some piece of immobility will finally quit
suddenly nimble on wooden limbs
as fast as a horse, fleeing the stable.

So, once again, I feel I am making another life-changing move - this time, virtually - to a place where nobody knows my name and where I get to be someone different and try new things. Humbling stuff, and necessary, too, in order to grow as an artist and as a person. I'm still learning something new everyday on Steemit, exploring its possibilities and my own. Many thanks, kind folks, for being part of this mind and heart expanding journey, so far!

I hope my poetry and musings continue to hold your attention and capture your imagination. Wishing all of you, too, a safe and soul-enriching rebirth in this Brave New World...

(Images: Pixabay & sculture by Salvador Dali: https://www.meaus.com/dali-egg-birth.htm)