A Note to a Critic (poem)

Insect Overlord

This one might be a little controversial! Or not... I showed some of my old poems to a fella I know, who considered himself a bit of an expert on the art. After 20 minutes he had come up with 3 pages of perceived errors, inaccuracies and ideas for improvement. Having read some of his poems myself, I found his advice hypocritical in the extreme! So in my displeasure I wrote this. The rest is up to you Boardsies!

A Note to a Critic

Is it your wish to see
Feelings flow in fluid motion,
Like the river
Restricted by its banks and walls
And harnessed for greedy purposes?
Or, like raindrops dripping
On a window to a steady beat,
Falling to the mossy concrete ground
And turning to mud as they are tainted?
Or perhaps controlled like an actor’s tears,
Mere aesthetics for you enjoyment
And lacking substance like mist in the headlights?

Why should expression be reined in,
Subjected to your suspect licence
So that you can take pleasure from the
Ornate niceties of lovely lyrics?
The message is more important,
That is the long and that is the short of it,
Not to be limited by the length of lines
To please a casual merchant of rhymes.


Tommy Collins

Insect Overlord

Any opinions at all..?