Why should I pander to sad critics lame
And to some unnamed failure beg my worth?
What line of rhyme has ever borne their name,
What measured thought gave their opinions birth?
Why suffer censure from some petty pen
That feels no fervor in another’s ink,
Condemning lines that braver minds commend,
Or striking down what they could never think?
Why pageant skill to mediocrity,
Or seek applause from hearts that know no art?
How can a dullard yet with brilliance see,
When envy casts dark shadows o’er their heart?
Let bards be judged by words they fairly writ
And not by fools that never penned a whit.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.