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...)