The Speech

Though it’s hard to see through the traffic jam that has infested my mind,
I search for the most explosive ideas to explore and pass the time.
Sometimes it comes out like verbal diarrhea,
And it’s easy to find words that rhyme with onomatopoeia,
But right now, I couldn’t even poeticize a sunset,
Probably couldn’t even write the lyrics for a song filled with dub step.
I guess I could sit down and think of something quite charming,
If I had a buffer to stop me from focusing on the most alarming.
I need a new outlet for recording these thoughts,
Cause if they stay in my brain, it will end up in knots.
There’s a need to express, and a need to be heard,
Still, I want you to hang on every frivolous word.
I wanna spit this on a beat and you make you feel inebriated,
Without drinking a sip or popping a pill, let’s be sedated.
I suppose there doesn’t have to be some big grand scheme,
If it sounds good when spoken, you’ll get what I mean.
I suppose there’s no terror in a loosely structured narrative,
Though some sort of thru line would be absolutely imperative.

I don’t dumb things down if you know what I mean,
But I’ll put one thing out there- plain, simple, and clean.
I’m speaking about the creative process,
I’ll take you on a ride, so try not to get nauseous.
Because on this journey, there’s hills, valleys, and peaks,
It’s a twisting, narrow road that has no patience for the meek.
In the beginning, you must take a dive,
Those who tread lightly, find it hard to survive.
Once the coaster gets going, hold on to your seat,
I’m giving you all the answers, so please be discreet.

It all starts with an idea that they call inspiration,
Though it must not be confused with mere imitation.
See this is for the creative- not a journalistic publication,
Take it to Hollywood if you long for duplication.
Pay attention when your writing gets lazy from frustration,
Keep ending with the same suffix, and your readers will take a vacation.
You have to switch it up, so approach this quite consciously,
And try not to end every line with a word that rhymes with me-
Because we,
Inevitably,
Will slowly,
but surely,
and subconsciously,
Tune out everything,
That you are saying.
You see?

So please-
Keep the rhyme in a jazz like format,
Improvising on every line, so the words don’t fall flat.
Again, it doesn’t matter what you’re talking about,
This is a point where I must leave no doubt.
You can have a poem discussing criminal forensics,
But it must read well and flow well, this is most intrinsic.
You can have the greatest subject in the world,
Without style as well as substance, nothing will be unfurled.
A missed opportunity, a waste of some minutes,
Without truth, poems never reach their true limit.
So while sounding nice is all hunky dory,
It’s hard to relate if there is no story.
Usually it starts with a beginning, middle, and end,
Though in many poems, on only one of these can you depend.
Sometimes they start, but don’t seem to finish,
Sometimes they end, leaving you unreplenished.

Poems are whispers to the soul and should be treated as such,
If the words don’t have any feeling, then they don’t have much.
Writers are the gatekeepers who explain life to us,
So their words must go beyond the vain and self-righteous.
The words must have metaphors, the words must have meaning,
They should have symbols, so we are constantly gleaning.
This is important, and yes all of these are musts-
You want to give your readers someone to confide in and trust.
So adhere to these thoughts and you just might succeed,
Or just do the opposite and address your own needs.
But if you want to be a writer and actually get read,
You’ll probably have to do at least some of what I said-
Tell the truth, and tell it plainly,
Talk to the heart, it’s always explaining.
Say what you know, say what you don’t,
Listen to others, say what they won’t.
Whatever you do, just keep it exciting,
You’ll get better and better, I just put it in writing.

See this is the speech that you’re going to need,
When everything sucks, and your own work you won’t read,
This is not the story of the fabulous life of a writer,
It’s a call to arms to those who are destined to inspire.
I cannot explain how important you are,
Your words can travel from here to far.
They say that writers never die,
Their words can survive when demand meets the supply.
We are compromised only by the limits we choose,
We are the winners, we make the rules.
So when you realize how fast time flies,
You’ll see how little can be accomplished before your demise.
You must write everyday cause there is no time to waste,
Most of what you write will be commonplace.
So you have to keep going and dig very deep,
Every now and then, you’ll find something you can keep.
What they say is true, writing is rewriting,
Through draft after draft, we bring the truth out of hiding.
While this may be the hardest thing you ever do,
I promise if you stick with it, your heart will stay true.
Yes there’s a chance that you’ll never get published,
This isn’t for fortune or fame, we’ve already discussed this.

So if think this is you think this how you will support your life,
You better prepare for a big heaping of strife.
Most writers don’t make money from what they write,
And it’s not just because their work is dull or just bites.
If it were easy, everyone would be a writer,
But it doesn’t take long before most lose their desire.
Most of your work will be thrown away,
Yet you still must come back to it day after day.
If you can’t love the process, you’ll eventually cease,
The voice of inspiration will decrease and decrease.
You’ll tell yourself, wow this isn’t so important,
I need to find something that will actually pay my mortgage.
You’ll go off and be happy like everyone else,
Or you make have a breakdown for your heart has been shelved.
You made the easy choice, so accept it as fate,
Perhaps these words came to you much too late.
Don’t beat yourself up, not everyone makes it,
And don’t be so bitter, there’s no reason to hate this.
Bui if you are ready to receive your true calling,
Get on the train, it’s leaving, why are you stalling?
This is not the road to health and success,
If you do it past fifty, you’ve truly been blessed.
I don’t promise happiness, or that you’ll be fulfilled,
But it can give you peace, and your soul will be still.
So write, write, write, write, and keep yourself going,
The rewards will be many, so don’t stop the flowing.
When they get you down, just remember this,
Your words last forever, you will always be missed.