No Pressure

I read about a man who quit his job
And, for eighteen years, wrote full-time.
No guarantee of success, no income.
In the end, he published and achieved some fame.
Perhaps his story plays out elsewhere,
With poor folks who never meet success.
But maybe not—who, after all, quits their job?

But what struck me most was the idea of his wife,
Acting as patron, working all those years.
“She put no pressure on me, ever, to perform.”

And I thought of my husband,
Who has encouraged me from the beginning
To spend time with friends,
To write when I wanted,
To relax and take some time for myself.

No pressure, ever, to perform.
I think I, too, could say that.