IT’S WONDERFUL TO WRITE

by Robert Lopresti

I’m sitting at the keyboard
       with a frown across my face
Just wishing this first draft of mine
       would tumble into place.
I sing the song of everyone                                
       the writing bug has bitten:
It’s wonderful to write
       but it’s better to have written.
                                                                   
The storyline keeps stretching out.
       but never seems to bend.
The one cliché I haven’t yet
       found use for is “The End.”
My plotting feels so clumsy,
       like I’m typing with a mitten.
It’s wonderful to write
       but it’s better to have written.
 
Once done I get to edit.                                   
       That’s the best part of the labor.
I’ll make sure each word is right,.                     
       and working with its neighbor,
Matching mood and metaphor
       to make the pieces fit in.
It’s wonderful to write
       but it’s better to have written.
 
Proof-read time will follow
       just as spring comes after winter.
What a joy to grab the pages
       fresh out of the printer,
Reading words I used to love
       to see if I’m still smitten.
It’s wonderful to write
       but it’s better to have written.
 
When it’s finally published, that’s
       the part I love the most
The struggles all seems worth it..
       Now’s the time to bask and boast.
I’ll still repeat my mantra, but
       I’ll purr it like a kitten:
It’s wonderful to write
       but it’s better to have written.
 
First to chant that phrase, I think
       was one who tried to scrawl
The story of a mammoth hunt
       on some deep cavern wall.
Writers of each rank agree
       From Bard to Bulwer-Lytton:
It’s wonderful to write
       but it’s better to have written.
 
Sing it out, you scribblers from
       Botswana to Great Britain
It’s wonderful to write
       but it’s better to have written.