To Critique or Not

Sharon y. Bishop

2007©

Reading I do a lot of

And well I too might add.

I see the funny, the senseless,

the happy and the sad.

It is sometimes the writing

that has me completely dazed

And if it turns a good review

I am often even amazed.

For what I say, and what you see,

may not always be the same.

And usually it is the piece one hates,

that brings a writer the greatest fame.

So the dilemma is there.

The question is on the table.

One writes from a place limited only by imagination

no level of degree is able.

How does one critique the critic

which needs to be criticized

without being critical in return?

There is no proper answer in sight

and all knowledge along the way is yours to learn.

Am I qualified just because I am a mountain of professional blah?

Am I qualified even if I don't really relate to your plight?

Is my opinion valid, is my opinion the one that is right?

Am I qualified if my wall is filled with awards, from all my worldly wit?

Am I qualified even if I am perceived to be an illiterate twit?

So who holds the magic wand, who waves the flag of words.

For They are the Kings and Queen of emotional castles.

Spreading wings like fancy eagles, portraits amazing birds.

Meeting every dot and tittle, expressing type wide letters of glib demands,

and roams the halls with wide reviews in the palm of their very hands.

Should sugar coat the thoughts, even when no sense can be found?

Should offence over rule, when the advise given is actually profound?

The answer wizard to all these

simply take the form of every voice we see.

Therefore all we can do is give our best,

and be all we know how to be.

And yes, some will truly feel the rhythm of your words,

and beat to the same drum of taste.

While others may not understand or receive your information.

They may even boldly proclaim it to be a sadistic waste.

It falls like water rolling off a ducks back.

They see no power in it, it has no volume, and stands in lack.

But be not discouraged

and never hold a grudge of despair.

they render you a favor to say a word, at all,

If not it touched them in some way,

why should they even really care?

So take the sugar, take the spice,

take the coldness, and even take the ice.

Does one prefer the truth or just someone to pretend?

For to learn, from it all, is what we should strive for in the end.