Poet's Progress

Poet’s Progress (10th July 2008, 1.28pm)

The page is full, the lines completed,
black where there should be white,
words jostling each other for space,
unable to breathe free and move;
the meaning flows in parallel lines,
leaving no room for ambiguity;
too many explanations, so much
spelled out in uniform rigidity;
I am lost, my mind meandering
from the path I have trodden hard;
out into the open fields where no
boundaries restrict or challenge me;
freedom, I fear, will flood to my head;
I must hold tight to my reins, not let
the prose run away with me, make me
wordy and self-indulgent; stay concise;
I must apply the same rules, abide
by the same code; words tight, honed.