Public Service Announcement

 Sorry guys but I have to say

your poetry’s not great today.

From a distance, it looked okay;

a closer look invoked dismay.

The passion clearly isn’t there.

It reads as though you want to share

the contents of your soul with flair

but when you look, the shelves are bare.

Instead, you posted utter shit

devoid of humour, sense or wit.

I’m not suggesting that you quit.

Just that you improve a bit.

So take a breath and take your time.

Just concentrate and you’ll be fine

if you construct them line by line.

(Not every poem has to rhyme.)

Then I suggest you count the words

and pick out half and flush those turds.

You know what? Fuck it, flush two thirds!

Apologies for those rude words

but if you don’t know how to edit

or perhaps you simply dread it,

can’t stand the work but want the credit,

you might be better off on Reddit.

I daresay this will be ignored.

You’ll just think that I’m snide and bored.

To you, I’ll be the mouse that roared;

your self-respect will be restored

but dude, this is your peer review

and hopefully I might break through.

There’s one poet here and here’s a clue:

if you ain’t me, then it ain’t you.

That’s all I have to say for now.

I’ve butchered this board’s sacred cow

where we pretend we’re all highbrow.

Now write a poem. You know how.