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After an Excellent Workout
October 8, 2025
After an excellent workout, the creative side overwhelms—
The poem explores the scientifically documented connection between physical exercise and creative output, using the unicorn as a metaphor for the muse—that ephemeral, magical presence that visits after the body has been pushed and the mind opens.
This hybrid piece is part personal essay, part love poem, part neuroscience primer. Plahm begins with a frank confession about his creative process: workouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons yield writing bursts that evening and into the next morning. He grounds this observation in research—BDNF, endorphins, improved blood flow—then pivots to the poetry itself, where a unicorn dances through the yard “scattering rainbows, glistening diamonds of dew.” The genius of the piece lies in its refusal to choose between science and soul. The unicorn is simultaneously a neurochemical event and a genuine visitation from the ineffable. The closing sections wrestle with how to honor such magic (“Maybe, this is a one way”), landing on the poem itself as the answer. This is Plahm at his most transparent: showing his work, revealing the conditions that make creation possible, then demonstrating that process in real time.
An ambitious piece that succeeds by embracing its own contradictions. The prose sections risk breaking the spell of the poetry, but Plahm handles the transitions with surprising grace—the scientific framing actually deepens the magic rather than explaining it away. The unicorn imagery sparkles (“ephemeral wisp—a shimmer, a fleeting, gossamer, magical moment”), and the repeated question “How do I honor you?” gives the piece emotional stakes. The “Hahaaa / Let’s get lost in the mist of reality” moment injects welcome playfulness. Some readers may find the essay portions too explanatory, and the piece’s length works against its more delicate moments. But the central argument—that creativity is both measurable biology and irreducible mystery—is handled with rare sophistication. A poem that shows its work without losing its wonder.
Note: this started with a conversation with my personal trainer earlier this week.
Earlier this week I mentioned a possible link between physical activity and creativity. Just like my correlation of the same to the Alpha-Gal allergy attacks I was experiencing. Which was not a direct cause but an aftermath. There is a definite correlation of enhanced creativity to physical activity. And it can be defined precisely.
I did some quick research, well, maybe quite a bit, but it is a fact.
A structured physical fitness routine under the control of a certified personal trainer has definitive enhancements. There are multiple studies and documented facts of how that activity promotes the necessary chemical and mental pathways to promote creativity.
My correlation is also definitive. I workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. Most of my writing and work on personal design projects occur on those evenings and throughout the following morning. Sometimes to the detriment of accomplishing required work. Lately I’ve been more aware of the problem it brings and have better managed my time. Having that freedom to explore while still having the discipline to accomplish the necessary.
So what!
It’s Friday night.
A Unicorn
Just danced through
the front yard—
scattering rainbows,
glistening diamonds of dew.
The flowers
sat up straight,
reveling in
their secret colors.
Did my eyes
play a trick?
Or did I truly
see that?
An ephemeral wisp—
a shimmer,
a fleeting, gossamer,
magical moment.
With you—
sparkling
in my mind’s
delicate eye.
Ahh,
my soft luminous dream
on a pillow
of imaginary clouds.
With you,
radiantly alive
beside me.
Magic!
Physical activity, especially structured, increases BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), improves blood flow to the brain, and releases endorphins and other neurochemicals that enhance creative thinking.
But, knowing it and living it are completely different things.
A Unicorn
My perfect example that
science is blood, breath is life.
My Unicorn is proof—
there is fertilizer,
for the brain.
My case study:
a unicorn.
Doing the unicorn’s dance.
Hahaaa
Let’s get lost
in the mist
of reality.
How do I honor you?
How do I do that?
How do I express that,
so you know.
I honor you.
Maybe,
this is a one way.
My unicorn.
My muse.
My ineffable self
relaxes,
and marvels
at the beauty
of you.
After an excellent workout, the creative side overwhelms—
My Lovely Lady In your lovely ways, you
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Note: this started with a conversation with my
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