Thursday, May 13, 2010

Word Butcher

Haul in
A side of words
Slap in the hooks
Hang it up for all to see

Raw, uncut verse
Ready for the butcher
A small cut here
Trim up the lines

Scrape off the fat
Condense the images
Saw through to the very bones
Where emotions lie

A nice roast of character
Standing on its own
Parallel phrases
Laid out like so many chops

Cut out
All the repetition
A ton of words
Tossed on the scrap heap

Story line steaks
Thick and meaty
Edit too much
End up with hamburger

Sharpen the rhythm
Clear and concise
Enough to make
Anyone's mouth water

Package up neatly
Lay out for the masses
The secret hope
That someone will buy

(Written during a poetry writing class when all our work was brought in for class critiquing. Can be intimidating, but if you open yourself up to the process it can be enlightening as well. So MUCH to learn...)

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