WHY POEMS ARE LIKE CHILDREN

WHY POEMS ARE LIKE CHILDREN*When I give birth, to the little darlingsI'm seeking reprieves, for all past failingsWith each new birth, there's always a chanceThat the next masterpiece, is waiting to happen!*My poems are like children, I've always said.And some will be bad, and some will be good.Some keep me up nights, invading my sleep!And some that I write, can cause me to weep.*Some are like confessions, that I end up giving.Some need more discipline, than I would be willing!To edit or not to edit, that is the question,when the end result becomes, an abomination?*Be ruthless, be ruthless, be ruthless, I saidSo I stripped it all down, till there was nothing left,Just the barest of bones, like Sylvia Plath,but after I killed it, it no longer made sense!*I love them unconditionally, both good and bad, even when the spoken word, becomes the absurd!What with changing this, and changing that,till the original material, is totally obscured!*I can obsess over it both day and night,then try as I might, I just can't get it right.Then others are right, in five minutes time,and spur of the moment, becomes the sublime!*Some,so promising, I'm pleased with indeed,hold not enough interest for the audience to read.While some, I had hesitated, to even post, are praised to high heaven like the Holy Ghost.*Some children are unruly, and they must be spanked!While some meek and mild, are encouraged to speak up!Today, the little darlings, won't be coming out to play, for the editor-in-chief, has had all she can take!*WordPlaya, March 2009