I read the title of a book I never read in your poem (my brother did), Agony and Ecstasy, a book about Michelangelo. And I guess it is both a curse and a catharsis for some to, "get it out." I find it a great pleasure and pastime. Because I am not driven, probably the reason I'm not very good at it… Whatever "it" is.

Your title made me think of the TV series, Feed the Beast, currently on about some mafia restauranteurs, I think. Because I haven't watched the show.

Ron

I agree with your general premise. Certainly it's important to 'minister' to ones gifts. Creating something original, however, involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. Sadly too many writers and poets live, and create, in fishbowls. Pacifying ones inner frustrations, and being original, can be (and often is) two entirely different things.
The 'critter' in the guts of (too much of) modern artistic endeavor seems trashy, agenda-driven, political, spiritually diseased, glamorized, overly-computerized, jaded, drug-fueled, re-hashed, plagiarized, and driven primarily by financial returns. It's mind-numbing.
I disagree (respectfully) with one of your postulates... there is no such thing as creating something 'out of nothing.' Only the Creator can do that. Writing requires tangible motivation, a wealth of past experience, the knowledge of language, the understanding of form, and the intellectual ability, and humility, to sift through disparate input to find what works in each particular context. You've created a clearly written piece with a cosmopolitan message. Well done. rlc

By all means, "feed the critter." You are talking my language. I have never had these prolonged writers block in my literary creations. Maybe a shot lull, but even then I kept trying to create. Good, informational poem you shared with us today.