Some poetry reveals too many secrets; <br />Some stories tell too many sordid tales; <br />Some songs sing harmonies that should be hidden; <br />Some rhymes just take themselves beyond the pale. <br /> <br />Some lyrics hold too hard and deep a feeling; <br />Some writing states too clearly what is so; <br />Some letters leave us no ambiguous meaning; <br />Some titles tell what others must not know. <br /> <br />Some comments choose no euphemistic short cuts; <br />Some messages contain too harsh a bite; <br />Some lines, sore-thumbed, stand out too sharp and clearly; <br />Some verbal fireworks shine a tad too bright. <br /> <br />And when the poet wants to wax too candid; <br />And when he scribes what’s really out to shock; <br />He wants the point to break off from his pencil; <br />He wishes that he did have writer’s block. <br /> <br />But there are other stops upon the journey <br />When words won’t throw themselves upon the page, <br />When eloquence departs in hackneyed clichés, <br />When writing’s just a chore that takes an age. <br /> <br />Some poetry is merely understatement; <br />Some stories never seem to come out right; <br />Some songs just drone along in mad meanders; <br />Some rhymes are simply forced and sound so trite. <br /> <br />Some lyrics have no impact on the memory; <br />Some writing is too spidery and dim; <br />Some letters make no sense when they are studied; <br />Some titles are too tedious and grim. <br /> <br />Some comments always seem to miss their target; <br />Some messages are really off the mark; <br />Some lines just weakly wobble, blur and waver; <br />Some verbal fireworks fade and spill their spark. <br /> <br />And so I iterate my hard dilemma: <br />Which words to ditch? Which other ones to use? <br />Is this too deep or is this much too trivial? <br />I think I’ll just let you, my reader, choose.<br /><br />C Richard Miles<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-writer-s-dilemma-to-be-read-first-before-the-others/
