I don’t know whether you noticed but when I write a poem I slam it down on the page still white –hot from the cauldron of creation. Only when it cools do I see its cracks and imperfections. This may take minutes, more often hours, sometimes days. One poem took me nine years to write. There’s still a few I’m working on from twenty years back.
Those of you who see the still molten post will be surprised when you see the reworked version solidifying into its present state. Yes, you should edit. The trick is not to edit out the primal energy which birthed the poem.
John Malone 
This was a surprisingly amazing allegory and good advice to boot!
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Such a wonderful thought!
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when I edit, I always think about what one of my professors told me once….
you have to edit with your audience in mind, if there is a sentence or a word that is there for your ego and not for your readers, erase it. You are not writing to please yourself, you are writing to amaze your audience. 🙂
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yes, there is much worth in that 🙂 however there is a delicate balancing act involved here: distinguishing between what pampers ego and what is consistent with the force of the initial impulse — one must never jettison the latter, don’t you think?
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I think the initial impulse comes from heart and soul rather than from ego. Ego comes next when we start analyzing the impulse.
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that’s very nicely put. I’ll pay that 🙂
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Amen, Sir! Excellently put! 🙂
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‘some days are diamonds, some days are stone.’ 🙂
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