Footpath Poet

The prompt for today was a challenge. It was just this:

Let’s play Writer’s Clue! Stories are about a person in a place with a problem. We can use the basic structure (modified to inject conflict) from the game.
For this story, write about Mx [1. a non-gendered title, in case you’re wondering. Now I’m wondering how to pronounce it…].___________ in the _________ room with a __________.

Even after breakfast, I was stuck, too many ideas running through my head. So I took out my trusty Motherpeace tarot deck and drew three cards. The first was an artist, the second depicted a dangerous, chaotic situation, and the third featured a broken weapon. And out came this story.

The narrow footpath was crowded with vendors and beggars when Priya arrived. Finding a small space, she spread out her mat and settled herself at the edge, carefully laying out her paper, ink, and pen at her feet. Finally, she placed her carefully hand-lettered sign for all to see: “Poems to order”.  With a deep sigh, she rested her hands on her knees and waited.

Without warning, a small pack of schoolboys careened around the corner, shouting and laughing. They saw Priya, but too late. in a matter of seconds, the lead boy tried to stop, but instead fell forward onto the mat, with two or three more boys landing on top of him. Seeing Priya’s startled face, the boys raised a chorus of apologies. 

“Oh, sister, I didn’t see you!”
“Forgive me, miss!”
“Sorry! Sorry! Let me fix it!”

Priya refused their help, holding each hand gently before pushing it away. She gathered their scattered materials and arranged them on the mat as before.The paper was dirtied, but the ink bottle was still stoppered. Her only pen, though, was snapped off just below the nib. 

Smiling, Priya dipped the jagged end of the pen into the ink and wrote:

The artist sits waiting
Not for peace, or perfect tools
But for the sudden breeze
The drenching shower
The sudden shock
The artist waits for chaos
And tames it with a broken pen.

Handing the poem to the boy, she gathered up her mat and walked into the crowd.