VersErotica: When I Write For Publication

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VersErotica
Love Poems by H. Paul Shuch, Ph.D.
copyright � 1993

When I Write For Publication

When I write for publication
I polish every participle,
Anguish over adjectives,
And value every verb.
I select each noun for nuance
Knowing no one will be wiser
If I overlook linguistic tricks
Or fail to make a point. Besides,
The editor is always there
To set my syntax straight. And still
I worry when I write for publication.

Yet when I write for you,
I cannot help but bare my soul.
Each word means more, each phrase the less.
And I must say it in an instant,
What's been building up inside me
For so long I can't remember.
Every writer's trick forgotten
I am tongue-tied, and I stammer
Incoherently for hours
'Til I finally get it out.
And it never will be perfect,
But it's true, from me to you.

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