The Hardest Thing About Rewriting

 

The hardest thing about rewriting is

   Cutting the lines I love.  They may not ever

Contribute to the play but they have fizz.

   They flow and snap and entertain; they’re clever.

But clever is a paint job, not the house.

   It should enhance the inside, and not smother

Or contradict—like when your favorite blouse

   Says one thing but the outfit says another.

It’s all about the structure, and rebuilding

   Out from the inside till it’s all one whole,

With solid levels, no excessive gilding,

   And architectured lines.  My writer’s goal:

      To make with my clawed hand and Vision pen

      Something I won’t have to rewrite again. 

 

Copyright 2014 Matthew J Wells