Poem for Poetry Thursday

Top 5 reasons I haven't written a new poem in two weeks.

5. August is really the cruelest month

4. My kids are time vultures sapping the life out of me (Mommy loves you!)

3. Haven't had an original thought in two weeks

2. I've spent my extra time sending out and revising instead of writing

1. I'm too distracted with the upcoming Red Sox-Yankees five-game series this weekend to write a new poem

Excuses! Excuses!

Well, with any luck I'll be back on track next week with something new for Poetry Thursday.

Before I get to the poem, I wanted to point out a new link I've added to my list. For those of you who send your poems out for publication, here's a very long but excellent list of poetry publishers who accept e-mail submissions.

Okay. This poem was originally published a few years ago at Can We Have Our Ball Back.



Discipline


The next time it acts up
Hit it with a rolled up newspaper
Hit it because it wants something
Hit it until it goes away
Because it makes that incessant racket
Because it wants your attention
Because it cries
Hit it because you are annoyed beyond annoyance
Because talking is not enough
Hit it with last Sunday’s sports section
Rolled up like a nightstick
Or a Louisville Slugger
Hit it with the back of your hand
Hit it with the flat of your palm
Pop it in the mouth
On the head
On the ears so they ring
Hit it on the small of the back
Hit it again and again and again
Make it stop
Make sure it won’t do it again
Make it understand
Because it never learns a lesson
Once is not enough
Once more, for good measure
Knock the shit out of it
Knock some sense into it
Knock it into the middle of next week
Because it asked for it
Hit it because you feed it
You keep it warm
You give it a place to sleep
And it still won’t listen
Hit it because it loves you no matter what
Hit it because it can