Rolling With the Punches

From my editor: “I’ll call you Deadline Devonshire, a nickname born Your tombstone will read, ‘She was never late before’” From my sister: “I’ll take claim to the gene pool’s beauty and brains You can take credit for writing verse that’s inane” From my friend: “You always leave home early for fear of getting lost Please buy a GPS, regardless of the cost” From my priest: “Reincarnation’s bunk; you were never Cleopatra Did you have to adopt ‘been there, done that’ as a mantra?” From my counselor: “You spend too many hours consumed by introspection No matter what you do, you’ll never reach perfection” From my director: “Good grief, how hard can it be to exit stage right? Are you standing there waiting for a green light?” From my coach: “Don’t hold that hockey stick so high in the air You look like you’re out hunting for Yogi the Bear” From my teacher: “You seem obsessed with making everything rhyme To the heights of great poetry, you’ll never climb” From me: “I guess I’ll just have to accept my imperfection Writing this poem? Too much self-reflection”