Thursday, January 03, 2008

To the Editor

[This week's Totally Optional Prompt encouraged us to write a "Poem to the Editor." Here is what I would like to have written some years back when I still took the local weekly. Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect's Monday Poetry Stretch asked for rhymed couplets.]


To the Editor


Dear, Editor, you don't know me.
It's for the best, I think you'll see.

I used to read your weekly then
you made me want to use my pen

to fix bad grammar here and there,
'til I found typos everywhere.

With deadlines you must work in haste,
but don't you follow "cut-and-paste"

with time reviewing every line
to make sure that each comes out fine?

Or do you like to leave a mess
and leave your readers in distress?

I solved the problem myself, its true,
I simply decided not to renew.



13 comments:

Linda said...

Ah, great ending! Very effective couplets, too! The rhyme doesn't overpower the poem but highlights the importance of the words.

Tumblewords: said...

LOL. You took the words right out of my mouth. Our local paper is so full of errors, I gave up reading it. Billboards are another peeve.

writerwoman said...

I know just what you mean. I find myself shocked each and everytime it says Turn to page blah blah for the rest of the story, but once I go there it's missing. How does that happen? It is annoying enough when words are missing from a sentence, but the whole rest of the story? That drives me nuts.

Sara

P.S. I noticed you have Poets Who Blog on your blogroll.Since I couldn't find you on our blogroll, I added you.

sister AE said...

Thanks, Linda. I can't tell you how many versions of the last lines I had! I played with multiple versions of the other lines in my head on the commute home tonight!

Hello, tumblewords. I truly was inches away from getting a red pen out one time, when a single article looked as if it had been pasted together by a 3 year old. My current pet peeve is "less" when I think they should use "fewer."

Thanks, Sara!

Deb said...

You set it right off with that terse, separated "Dear"!

gautami tripathy said...

Now that is something I have wanted to do so many times...

Pauline said...

This made me chuckle - the paper I wrote for also disdained line editing. A lawyer whose offices were next door to ours took it upon himself to red-pen every issue - to no avail. Maybe it's a Massachusetts thing...

sister AE said...

thanks, ...deb.

hello, gautami. I do miss getting some of the local announcements - but they are getting better about posting them on the web these days (or sending them out with the property tax bills).

hi, pauline. LOL and maybe so... The last straw for me was when they merged, and added a "free" Sunday issue of the other paper, and then became unable to give me an itemized bill for my subscription (with the name of the paper I REALLY wanted on it).

Norma said...

I love this. GReat job.

sister AE said...

Thanks, Norma.

Clare said...

Hi Sister AE! Great voice and pace in this -- and I love the dry humor. Really nice rhymes too!
:)

carmilevy said...

Thank you for writing this! Every day that I read our city's rag of a paper, I'm shocked by the endless parade of typos and missteps that, frankly, would have gotten me kicked out of journalism school. Yet for some reason, such mediocrity is now acceptable at a pseudo-major daily paper. Go figure.

No wonder newspapers are dying.

When I cancel my subscription, may I borrow your theme?

sister AE said...

Hello, Clare. Thanks.

Hi, Carmi. I'm glad it isn't just me. You are welcome to take my work for a walk but if you really do, please let me know so I can send you my real name to use for the byline.