When I was 19 years old my sister took me to a talk by Ray Bradbury, where his address was aimed at prospective writers. One quote stuck with me all my life (though I probably don't have it in my memory with the exact words he spoke): "If you want to be a writer, write a thousand words a day. If it's crap, throw it away, but write it anyway. The crap you write a year from now will be better than the good stuff you are writing today."
When I decided to get serious about writing poetry I adapted that advice to verse by choosing to write at least one poem every day, not waiting for inspiration but deliberately drawing it from my surroundings. This poem is one I wrote in that discipline while waiting for my order in J's Burgers on J Street near 10th in Downtown Sacramento.
Available for Kindle download at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YX2VZ78
Available in Printed version at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/uicearbhaill
=============================================================
Ode to a Burger
It’s greasy and it’s messy
It’s high in fat and salt
The red meat and the cheese on it
Will cause my heart to halt
There’s no dietary fiber
Its vitamins are few
It won‘t balance my electrolytes
Like some health foods will do
But, damn, if it ain‘t tasty
Especially served with fries
A really greasy hamburger
Will please me till I die
No comments:
Post a Comment