• Vol. 08
  • Chapter 02
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Critique this

Look I posed for you guys!
Looks good right?
Am I eligible for the A class parties now?
The cultural hub, the writers’ hub parties you throw.
Please tell me, yes, I need wine, good wine that is
I’m severely broke.
What else do you expect from writers?
We have always been starving,
Starvation, after all, is food for poetry
Not for the soul though
The soul wants to be free
Free from succumbing to apple polishing you guys
From your obnoxiously biased journals, reviews
Which glorify your agendas, your rapport,
Your sense of fulfillment
Of being part of the global literary scene
What really do you know about literature?
I understand that I perhaps know less and I curse
And I don’t make sense, but do you know more?
You did not understand Kafka
You said Dickinson lacked poetical qualities
None of you gave a damn about Poe during his lifetime
And had it not been for Shelley, you would have perhaps never bothered to read Keats
I could go on but I think I have made my point –
I despise you, all of you critics
But I’m broke, I’m severely broke and I need wine, good wine that is,
And for that I’m wear your reviews
over my head like a bag and attend your parties

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Critique this

I’d wear a white lace top for you to peek through my skin
From my experience, skin appeals more than words,
I’d do that too, for I’m severely broke and I need wine, good wine that is,
But you would not see me smiling
For I do not want to lose clients like you, or shall I say connoisseurs of art and culture,
Isn’t that a better euphemism for rich old, corrupted sponsors?
Never mind, but you would not see me smiling for a different reason
My teeth are sharper than Masamune Katana
And if I open my mouth and let them move
Chances are you would not publish me
Oh what am I thinking! After reading this you might not publish me anyway
But look I have shut my eyes, my nose, ears with your rubbish critics
And yet I am writing out such a hateful poem
Sorry, I was overwhelmed, hateful isn’t the right adjective
Let me help you guys when you review this;
Call it “cut throat”; will grab more attention
In the upcoming volume
And yes, one more thing,
Shut all our senses,
We wouldn’t mind
For us to stop writing
You got to slit our hearts.
Now, give me some good wine and critique this piece, if you will!

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