You Gotta Be Careful

You gotta be careful what you put up.

It’s like Fish ‘N’ Chips.

One bad batch and people remember.

That bad taste in the mouth.

You gotta serve it up fresh, hot, well salted,

people like salt and it has to have crunch

and zing.

It has to hit those taste buds.

Make the mouth water.

Run with melody.

A good poem is like a bag of fish ‘n’ chips.

Not too fussy.

Just the basics, a little poetry with herbs and spices

and that secret ingredient  people keep talking about.

Something you can savour.

Ponder over for a while.

You develop trust,

Yeh, that little guy behind the counter, he knows how to do it.

And you keep coming back.

That’s how you want it to be.

A good poem is like Fish ‘N’ Chips.

What If I Leave the Dog Out?

What if I leave the dog out?

You can’t leave the dog out. It’s hilarious.

How about the two phone calls?

Necessary to the plot.

But it’s got to be less than 100 words. What if I leave out the storm descriptors?

Then, excuse the pun, you destroy the atmosphere.

How about the phrases I worked hard at?

Like ‘freckled sensibility’ ?

Yes.

It’s a frilly phrase..

But ….

Kill your darlings.

So what do I do?

Regroup. You can fit anything into 100 words.

‘War and Peace’?

Yes, even ‘War and Peace’.