Clichés

O, little one, with pen poised on parchment,
throw away old notions of good and bad
and what those baffling feelings meant:
there’re better rhythms and rhymes to be had.

that tear-jerking, angst-ridden, got-the-blues
break-up you sobbed over a page about?
please don’t post that and ask for reviews—
your diary’ll keep it safe and sound.

look out at the fuchsia sunset—like it?
well, that’s overdone, too—leave it alone.
look at the scarlet cuts on your poor wrist—
i’m sorry, but skip the page-long poem.

O, amateur, waiting with quill ready,
look inside your mind for unique stories:
fairytales, legends, mythology
can trigger your muse and get you glory.

O, ye forlorn inky pen a-waiting--
be patient with master: Poet-In-Training.