My fair-weather friend, if you’re at your wits’ end
About writing – there’s something to say.
For try as you might when you start to write
Don’t let clichés get in your way.

It’s as easy as pie if you see eye to eye
Don’t rub anyone up the wrong way.
It’s the luck of the draw, don’t lay down the law
Just tell yourself have a nice day.

It’s all nip and tuck, avoid passing the buck,
But do try to play your card right.
If you go with the flow, then you’ll reap what you sow –
And finish as high as a kite,

It’s not very nice to skate on thin ice
So don’t panic and chase those wild geese.
Take the bull by the horn and weather the storm.
And wonders? They’ll never cease.

Don’t sleep like a log, just go the whole hog
Your writing is second to none.
Go out on a limb, time to sink – or to swim –
And you’ll never return to square one.

With roses and wine, toe the line, rise and shine
Don’t get out of the wrong side of bed.
When push comes to shove, words fit like a glove
And your writing goes full steam ahead.

Yes, writing is fun when you get the job done
We’re like Dickens, Scott, Wilde, Hemingway.
For time and again there’s no gain without pain
You’re a star – at the end of the day.

Tony Oswick
first appeared in: The Author [SPCSW] and reproduced here with permissions

Chosen as: Poem of the Week: Sunday 16 December 2018