Robin Amy Bass

DO NOT MINCE WORDS…

Do not mince words
Or patronize – it only makes things worse
Say what you feel – and if you must
Well dam it – you should curse

Do not hold back
For fear you might – insult your audience
Don’t compromise your adjectives
And do not change the tense

For fear that you have struck a chord
‘Cause that’s what writers do
You offer up a treasure map
Most haven’t got a clue

You weave a lexicon of nouns
In hopes it will ring true
And when we read your poetry
A little piece of you

Is offered to the lucky ones
Who’ve stopped to check it out
Don’t try and tell them what it means
Don’t try and figure out

Which sentence is the one that works;
Which verb misunderstood?
Just smile and nod, or e-mail thanks
If some says, “It’s Good.”

And if you’re uncertain or unsure
That no reader will get it
The chances are, you’re probably right
Sometimes we should forget it

And open up a brand new page
And start another rhyme
For soon, enough someone will say,
“Hey, that was good, this time.”

Some days you win a big award
Some days you might win two
But on the days you do not win
There still is part of you

That’s offered up with head and heart
That’s offered ‘cause you must
An offering that’s from the soul
That’s offered cause you trust

That most of what you have to say
Is wanting to be heard
And second nature, any way
This love affair with words

So do not mince or compromise
Go easy on the edit
And if you make your best friend cry,
Like a friend, just say “I said it!”

And sticks and stones may well break bones
But words say how we feel
And there will always be a place
For writers who are real.