Oh I can pen advice I wouldn’t heed,
compose an argument that I’d ignore,
devise a dialogue I’d never read,
report a juicy item that would bore
me if I happened on it in a book,
and even leave me cold on film or stage.
This writer as a reader wouldn’t look
at phrases I’m creating for the page.

No, I read for the quality I lack,
and relish what I covet but have not.
I scan the characters while I ransack
the prose for what I lost or never got:
an aptitude for action and the knack
to fabricate the essence of a plot.