Your Writing is So Good

A poem about broken record feedback.

Photo by Mrika Selimi on Unsplash

“Your writing is so good!”

They say
As if there aren’t a million different ways
To structure words into coherent sentences.

As if my pen
Putting my thoughts to paper
Is indicative of talent.

How can “good” feel so gratifying
Yet so meaningless at the same time?
How can a simple four-letter word
Hold the power to catapult my self-esteem to new heights?

But “good” is a dead end word
A word that denotes success
Clarity
Accomplishment
As if I’ve won the writer’s lottery
The golden ticket
And I’m the oracle wordsmith of our time

When really
My sentences ramble
I can tighten up my language
I can get to my point faster
I can get my pen to go in another direction.

I would rather you tell me
How to shape my words
And have me mould them into sculptures worth looking at…