I attempt to revise
A story I wrote
10 years ago.
I was a terrible writer then.
It’s a long story
And one-third of it
Will be cut,
Deleted,
Destroyed,
Done away with.
It will become something different,
Something new,
Hopefully something better.
I dread revision of this piece
Because so much will be changed.
It’s like it has an extra layer
To be revised.
It requires more revisions
Than other stories.
The tedious task
Of revision.
Being a writer has five parts.
One part reading and writing;
Four parts revision.
You’re not a writer
If you don’t revise.
From the poetry collection Men Are Garbage.
James Pack 