Off the top of my head....

Off the top of my head I wouldn’t have said

there’s a shred of a chance of my winning

but I love using words  and though it’s perverse

I’m particularly fond of punning

I’ve just finished a course on how to write verse

and if I don’t try  then I’ll never know

If I’ve learned to express unlike anyone else

an image that’s really quite stunning.

When I’m by myself I just can’t stop

this verbal diahorrea which you’re going to hear

but if you’re at home and can read it alone

you can cast it aside if you can’t abide it, and I’ll never know

So….

What’s it to be will you give me a chance to woo you with words

that I’ve crafted and honed to a poem that has something  to say

and no-one else has written in verse

in quite the same way that I want to say it?

I’d play it cool but I’m such a virgin

I’ m urging you to read me through and give me a chance.

read me out loud to a crowd or a few

in the bath, in the garden wherever appeals

What do poets do when they get a day

of inspiration when they want to say something in verse

do you rush for your pen or your computer

do you pester your friends or your publisher?

I know the given is not to plunge in but to let it settle,

read it again, ‘frisk every word’ to see what it’s saying

remove ’ buts’ and  ‘ands’  just there for the  rhythm;

a double adjective’s quite a sin,

a descriptive verb is best  put in.

Don’t forget if you’re reading aloud

syllable count is not seen by the crowd

the words will just flow and mingle together,

what you need to decide when you have finished

is could you diminish the  number of verses

don’t hesitate,  deviate or repeat yourself

or yours is the poem that is left on the shelf.