{"id":148,"date":"2026-01-14T14:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T14:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=148"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:24:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:24:46","slug":"a-sign-ier-sign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=148","title":{"rendered":"A Sign-ier Sign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
She bores holes into my virtual eyes as she prods,
\u201cWhat are you waiting for, a \u2018sign-ier' sign?\u201d 

The esteemed New York Times<\/em> Bestseller calls me to the carpet
Probes me to investigate my doubts, defy my hesitation.

\u201cHow many people have told you, \u2018you need to write a book?\u2019\u201d
\u201cHonor the assignment of your life!\u201d She proclaims.

I'm off camera, unseen, yet she penetrates my soul
Speaking in the language of kismet, of higher calling.

But\u2014 my brain begins. I\u2019ve never done the Iowa Writers\u2019 Workshop.
I don\u2019t have an MFA. I don\u2019t have a published\u2014

\u201cDO NOT SHRINK YOURSELF!\u201d
She counters, knowing all.

\u201cYou do NOT need \u2018one more' credential!\u201d 
She takes me to church.

\u201cChange the lives of those who come after you!\u201d
\"Your shyness is not humility, it's hoarding!\"

I am caught up in her anthem, in her platinum crop,
Her ruby lip, those fourth-wall-obliterating irises.

\u201cGreatness comes when you choose to 
'Do It Scared.'\u201d 

I glance behind me, at my book stand
Where her books hang prominently on my floating shelves.

\u201cDo not ignore your assignment!\u201d
The workshop runs hours over; then whoosh, done.

Could I do this? I wonder.
I don pajamas, drift asleep in a trance.

This morning, alarm blares, I rise; catch my frame in the mirror
Still wearing a string of pearls - not a metaphor.

I put hand to necklace, find my own eyes.
Absurdly regal - flannel and flair - worth sharing, with someone.

Is this the sign? The signiest sign?
Okay, Luvvie, let\u2019s do this.

<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“A Sign-ier Sign,” on receiving signals and acting on them, Poem 014 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[101,100,38,102,104,103,16,70,99],"class_list":["post-148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-poetry-challenge","category-poems","tag-calling","tag-challenge","tag-community","tag-craft","tag-doubt","tag-learning","tag-progress","tag-women","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions\/169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}