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Contests : Wergle Flomp Free Poetry Contest : Past Winners : 2009 : Tammy Tillotson
THE BOOK OF POD: PSALM 69:1-18
1Save me, O POD,
for tears of sorrow come up to my spine.
2I sink in the miry desks
where no publisher extends a foot in the door.
I have come into the deepest slush pile,
and the slush engulfs me.
3I am discarded, crying for help,
my pages recycled parchment.
My eyes fail,
to see my typos, O POD.
4My readers hate me without reason
I'm pulling hairs out of my head,
many are the negative reviews without cause
those critics who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to refund
what books did not sell.
5You show my errors, O POD:
my guilt is in print for all to see.
6May the authors who still hope in you
not be discouraged because of me.
O POD, the do-it-yourself Almighty
may the authors who seek you
not be ashamed because they first read me,
O POD of the Internet,
7For I endure scorn for the sake of my unpolished story,
and amateur cover design.
8I am a stranger to my fellow authors,
with the exception of my own mother;
9her zeal for my book consumes her,
but the insults of those who insult my book fall on me.
10Though I type for days and forget to eat,
I am still scorned;
11when I put on my dust jacket
people make fun of me.
12The publishers who sit at their desks mock me,
and I sing the song of America.
13But I pray to you, O POD,
for a time that you will find favor,
as in great love O POD
answer my cry bring my story salvation
14Rescue me from the slush piles,
do not let my writing stink;
deliver me from self-addressed stamped envelopes,
from the deepest slush.
15Do not let the slush engulf me,
or the deep slush pile cover me up,
or the door close in my face.
16Help me, O POD, out of kindness and love;
with great mercy, please help me.
17Do not make me hide my face from my readers,
help me quickly, for I am in grave trouble.
18Come here and rest in repose;
redeem me, in spite of my prose.
Sent as a joke to Poetry.com, this poem won an honorable mention in the 2009 Wergle Flomp humor poetry contest sponsored by Winning Writers. Author Tammy Tillotson received a cash prize of $72.95.
About Tammy Tillotson
Tammy Tillotson is a freelance writer. She lives in Virginia with her husband, two small tireless boys, and a Siamese fighting fish named ABCDEFG, or simply Alphabetta for short. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University and her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Hollins University. She is the editor of the Writers Studio Young Authors Anthology entitled Bull Bay Review and a contributing writer for the ezine Discover Southside where her humorous pieces reflect her opinions and tales about growing up and living in Southside Virginia. Though the poem was intended as a joke, her faith is no laughing matter. She attends church on a regular basis, is active in her local MOPS group, and continues to be incredibly humbled by God's wonderful sense of humor in her life.
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