Is it the destined way of man

To plead to beg

To scratch and scrabble

Clawing through naked earth

Like a desperate hungry animal

To dig down to the very depths

Of all that he holds dear

To snip and to sneer

At his own ability

To watch himself flounder

On jagged rocks

Cut and bleeding

To chip away at every sliver

At every splinter of every letter

Of every word

As if it were unrefined silver or gold

To seek out that rich vein of untold wealth

The one of simile Rhyme and word

Of rhythm and saltpetre

To ignite

To fire the spark

To play the fool

To play the whore

For the paying customer

To fight the constant destructive ache

That gnaws and nips

At his heels

Like a long lost puppy baying

Crying for more

Or to bury his head in the sand and say no

It’s not worth all of the torment

And the angst

And yet somehow

Cannot be left

And another word pops out

Rising to the surface it floats

Followed by another and another

Until verse is formed

And gives birth to yet

Another pain racked and unscheduled delivery