Show Notes
I'm moving the Rough Sketch show to once a month because life (clients, interviews, and general chaos) is loud, and I'm using that extra space to go back to poetry — the thing that actually hooked me on art. I'm Timothy Kimo Brien, your resident instigator, and this episode is me dusting off 12 steno pads, putting pen to paper, and reading a rough sketch called "Going Back" that leans on jazz, nostalgia, and the messy, beautiful return to simplicity. The poem walks through late-night weariness, a mausoleum of depression, and the small ritual of scratching thoughts down as both warning and salvation — basically me trying to send postcards to myself from places I shouldn't have left. I talk about why prompts didn't stick, how I decided no prompt was needed, and why editing in a new way helped the work breathe. Stick around for the pieces I read, give me your honest take, and take this as your friendly nudge to tame that inner critic: create more than you consume, write a poem about what you're going through, and maybe share it with me. I'll catch you next month — same chaos, more poems. Poem: Going Back 6 Sept 2026
The record spins The arm lifts up, over, gracefully I am back to 1992 Looking at the hard-fought bags under my bloodshot eyes Aching body Aching mind Vision is blurry Daily meditation done French lesson done The house encompasses us all, creaks and moans As the weather changes from an unforgiving summer To the wet and dreary fall And I am looking at boxes piled up for recycling Making a modern art sculpture Unfinished diamond painting Brushes hardened by dry acrylic paint and empty canvases Twelve steno pads wait to become memorials to my thoughts That I dare not share with my loved ones I’ve isolated myself from the rest of my home I have created a mausoleum of depression There are no tickets for sale Remarkably, there is no line a mile long to enter So I feel the only way to fill the gaping hole in my soul Is to go back to the beginning Jazz playing in the background Living vicariously through the disciples of hard bop and cool Pen to paper, releasing inner struggles Scratching my thoughts Not as a user manual But as a warning A warning of what not to become Letting the subconscious out of its self-imposed prison To feel the sunlight that finds its way into my cave Timidly, trembling, cautiously I’m going back to when I thought simplicity Was the way to be To find the decisions that led me To a place where I was Or should have been Content And remake those choices to stay there I’m going back So I can send postcards to myself From where I should have never left How do I get such great guests? PodMatch I use Podmatch to get the best guests on the show. Check out PodMatch if you want to be a guest on other podcasts or if you have a podcast and need guests for your show. Guests from Podmatch Want to be a guest on Create Art Podcast? Send Timothy Brien a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/createartpodcast Make Sharing your podcast easier Use Podcast Beacon for the best NFS products to share your podcast while out and about or at conferences.
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