I watched this video the other day about fear and permission. Chris Guillebeau quoted a lovely poem by Hafiz.
The small man builds a cage for everyone he knows while the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low, keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful, rowdy prisoners.
I think to write well, we have to have the keys and not hold onto them too tightly. Is there a poem or phrase that captures something of how you feel about writing? Are your characters beautiful, rowdy prisoners?
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 
I love the poem and the photo. I’m not sure how holding the keys loosely translates into writing but it’s an evocative phrase and it’s got me thinking.
I think, if I were a writer, I would have to keep all my characters in cages, otherwise it would be the inmates running the asylum. 😉
From Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”:
This always makes me think of a tradition among Native American rug- and blanket-makers (Navajo? I forget) — something like, they make sure to include some imperfection in every rug’s design, because making it perfect would be trespassing on the gods’ territory. But nobody thinks those rugs aren’t works of great beauty (and function!).
I’d love to write a Navajo blanket of a book!
P.S. I’ve never seen the Hafiz quote before — but my gosh, that is nice!
I guess I’ve expounded my character woes enough on my own blog; I won’t involve your innocent blog in the bloodshed. 🙂