You Know You'Re In the Zone When:

When the poem jumps on you, wholly formed, Needing only you to let it out. When you lose track of what the other person's saying, Because your inner monologue is coming together. When you forget all else you're doing, Because now you realize how to say it. When traffic's so slow that you feel like screaming, Because you want to get home and write it down. When you take those incremental steps of becoming a writer, -- One of them is like that first time you ride a horse, It's big and it's powerful, And you are ON THIS THING. Or when your consciousness really starts smiling back at you, Because it's gotten bigger and deeper, Or at least now you're better at shaking hands with it, Seeing more of what's in there, And sometimes what's in there is laughter, Because now you can make yourself laugh. When that sad line pops into your head, And you give that initial gasp or gulp or sniff, Because you're going to start crying, But you're in a restaurant so you try and resist it, Make it into a cough or clear your throat, Trying to disguise it, And your jaws and ears hurt under the tension Of not letting the sobs out.