Welcome! jpauchter
workshop suggest the 1st 3 lines as:
I walk up to my Victorian
with a box of matches.
I light the flat on fire,
re "(Here's a precautionary epigram!)"
^^ I believe this editorial is more effective unwritten; let the white space imply - white space before the turn which is the last 4 lines -
white space as fulcrum
re "critics cause true artistry genuine harm"
^^ "true artistry genuine harm" - the irony & tension between what are usually synonyms
genuine harm is testimony to true artistry -
"critic" can be constructive or destructive; when the latter, it is jealousy
with "cause" my inner language poetry (langpo) ear is hearing "caustic" - but then "critic" here is indeed the destructive agent.- critics causing harm on the farm
I workshop suggest that last line as a loner line.
jpauchter, workshop in toto for your perusal & consideration
Michael (MV)I walk up to my Victorian
with a box of matches,
and light that flat on fire;
walk calmly to the pool's edge
and drink from my Mellow Yellow
without giving a damn.
Locusts destroy greenery -
the crops of creativity.
The duel between bug and farm -
critics causing true artistry genuine harm.
jpauchter wrote:(This is a new poem that I hope will blast everyone with the force of an M-80!)
I walk up to my Victorian
with a pack of matches.
I light the house on fire,
walk calmly to the pool's edge.
I drink from my Mellow Yellow
without giving a damn.
(Here's a precautionary epigram!)
locusts destroy greenery
the precious crops of poetry
a duel between bug and farm
critics cause true artistry genuine harm