It was two minutes to midnight
When I composed this ditty
Weary and bleary eyed
Was not feeling very witty
A final draft after editing
Submitted to a committee

In the morning they will meet
To examine what I wrote
If the members decide to publish
It may go to a vote
Will they be unanimous
Hope it’s a positive choice
The chairman has a veto
The committee has a voice

They recommended a rewrite
"This poem just doesn’t flow
We set a gold standard
Yours fell well below.
The theme is uneventful
And the rhymes are kind of trite
Its more like children’s verse
But not entirely shite."

Cut out the irony
Try and be more sincere
Give the reader the impression
You are more creative than you appear
The punctuation is erratic
And the grammar often sucks
Sentences like an accident
Were they run over by a truck ?

There are no literary devices
Try some show don’t tell
Use a majestic metaphor
And you will be doing well
Alliteration is addictive
And similes are what we like
Add more colour and imagery
Its more than black and white

We read some bad poems
Our patience is wearing thin
You have to make some improvements
Or your work is heading for the bin

You may try a book of prayer
Or a consultation with God
Because next time the Committee
Will be a firing squad