I am not God
but I am a songwriter
and if I wrote a lyric that waged war on itself
whose lyric destroyed its own natural resources
whose tune betrayed its suicidal tendencies
whose bridge sighed as it crossed a ravine of forgotten tenderness
I would erase it from the set list
I would expunge it from the repertoire
I would unspool the cassette demo from a tour bus window as it went down the motorway
I am not God
but I am a poet
and if I wrote a poem that eviscerated itself
whose rhyme schemes suppurated with vengeance
whose rhythm pedalled dreams of cataleptic fits
whose metre tracked a visually impaired downhill skier
I would pluck it from the anthology
I would take it off line
I would incinerate the manuscript with a sparkler lit from the fires of humility
I am not God
but I cannot help wondering
if God sleeps at night
Julian Isaacs