Advice from Sharksteeth

Bill, you say you have
nothing to write
and compare your silence
to a dog that bites
but does not bark-

To write (and write well)
you must convert
your dogs to sharks
the scour the black hell
of Neptune's floor
rising occasionally to gorge 
upon some poor shipwreck-

So let the others sing
until they wring their necks,
let the others do the crying;
You, being by silence bit,
must in turn devour it-

You must learn to speak
as when you were young;
yes, you must learn again
to speak
though not this time
with your tongue
but with your razor teeth-

copyright 2001 Phoebe Claire Publishing, LLC  All rights reserved