What can I do to be original?
What themes in poetry have not been done
To death? What stories haven’t yet been told
Or anyway, which ones still have some wear
In them? How can I keep my poems fresh?
It’s really hard to not repeat myself!
And when I think i’ve thought of it myself
I often find it’s unoriginal
That centuries ago, it was a fresh
Idea, but now the bloody thing’s been done
So many times it makes me want to swear
It has been painted, written, sung and told.
But there must still be stories to be told,
Some plotlines I can have all to myself!
They’re somewhere in me, certainly, but where?
How will I know when I’m original
And when derivative? If it’s been done
Then can I change it into something fresh?
It’s so important, now, to keep it fresh:
For readers get bored quickly, so I’m told,
If they suspect that your ideas been done
They’ll walk away and leave you to yourself
The pressure’s on to be original
That’s what makes stars like Lady GaGa wear
A meatdress, which is lots of fun to wear
But, like my poetry, will not stay fresh
But better stink and be original
Than decorous and classical but old
News. So do not sabotage yourself:
And play it safe with something that’s been done.
As BNL once sang, it’s all been done:
And now I think about it, that is where
I got this idea from. I’ve conned myself
I thought that this Sestina would be fresh
But meta writer’s block is really old.
So I have failed to be original.
I think, myself, that everything’s been done.
Nothing original is anywhere:
To keep them fresh, old themes must be retold.
Tom Juniper Poetry 