Metaphor For Writing Poetry, Or Hand Me That Hammer Poem by Heidi K. Haskell

I'm carefully crafting a ship in a bottle
One wrong move, and the rigging's gone awry.
Painstaking, sure - not too fast but mustn't dawdle -
Delicately, softly give this dance of words a try.

Each word picked well, with much deliberation
And each wrong choice frustrating worse and worse,
Balancing, maneuvering steady hand and dedication,
Culling the verse from the Universe.

Tiny, safe, and self-contained,
I finish, ultimately pleased with self.
A vessel built for the sea of ideas remains
Sealed in a bottle, displayed on a shelf.

A smug 'Well done! ' to me I say,
But very soon there comes the day
That I can see my efforts failed.
And I will feel I really oughtta
Break the glass, start a regatta:
Ships are meant to be sailed.