The POTW: Verse Til It Hurts

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POTW #383
(Week of 9 February, 2003)
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All writers, and probably all artists in general, are asked the following question on a regular basis: "Where do you get your ideas?" There seems to be a common perception that ideas are like rare, beautiful butterflies, frolicking in some secret sunny grove in a magic valley, awaiting the nets of those who have read the map. Well, they're not.

Ideas

Ideas are like dust and lint
They ceaselessly appear
Churned out dirty from the mint
They choke the atmosphere
It's easy to detect them
They are coating every surface
The trick is to collect them
And to make them serve a purpose
To separate the choicest bits
To pound and sand and scrape them
To wad them up and make them stick
To polish and reshape them
Peeling, padding, painting, poking
Pressure, glue and heat
Strongarm tactics, gentle coaxing
Charges and retreats
To add, subtract, adjust, combine
To trim but not diminish
And most of all, to draw the line
That says the thing is finished

Copyright © 2003 by Dave Grossman

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Buy This Book:

Interested in more? Check out "Ode to the Stuff in the Sink," Dave's illustrated book of "guy" verse (concerning the deeper philosophies of things like not doing the laundry, putting your feet on the furniture, and of course beer) at the Maximegalomporium (our store). And did I mention it was illustrated? Pictures!

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?:

Like any self-respecting citizen of the modern age, I use machinery.

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