I am at Tim's... He is on his laptop, I on mine. He mentioned that some of my poems are extremely long and that I might try an exercise where I shorten them up. I agree, though I defend myself, "Look at Bob Dylan..his stuff is usually long." Tim replies, "Not all of it." (At least he didn't say "You're no Bob Dyan." Remember that debate where Bentsen said you're no Jack Kennedy to Dan Quayle... ahh see this is where the tangents start)

So I write this:

ODE TO BREVITY

An exercise in brevity
I've got to keep this short
So now's the time for you to speak
I wait for your retort

I'm told that all my wordiness
And tangents just distract
So all those 10 page epic poems
I formerly retract

And all sonnets and the prose
Where I proclaim my love
That wanders on quite aimlessly
You may feel free to shove

Inside a drawer, or delete the page
It's gone with a quick touch
This is my ode to brevity
I fear I've said too much

ODE TO BREVITY

©Copyright May 23, 2005 by Robin Amy Bass