This Is Not the Song I Meant to Write

This Is Not the Song I Meant to Write

“These are not the lines that came to me…”-Billy Collins

This is not the song I meant to write

The one with clever insight

And the heavenly melody

The chorus crammed with majesty

It’s the late night tune of a tired mom

An ordinary psalm

From the kitchen chapel, drinking Snapple

Washing dishes, praying wishes

This is not the song I meant to sing

It should have been inspiring

But it’s out of key, no symphony

And the rhythm isn’t steady

I should probably crumple up these lines

They’ll never make a dime

Go fold the clean clothes, thaw out the pot roast

Scrub the floor and pray some more

This is like the middle of a book

That isn’t very good

It doesn’t make you laugh, it doesn’t make you cry

You  keep reading on but you don’t know why

This is not the song I meant to write

I’ve wasted all this time

I’m going to the back yard, out in the deep dark

to write a good song, I hope I won’t be too long