The Garden of Stories

Lean over, my reading avunculus
And sample this tasty ranunculus
It's a story alright
Of young blood in the night,
To an editor, though, Splatterpunkulus!

Can't this one go a bit faster?
No, the science is such a disaster
Plodding technical diction
It's hard science fiction
Though we call it Pain in the Aster

And this one, a story to fail
A beginner's epical tale
Full of battles and terrors
And typos and errors
It arrives in the Daisy Chain Mail.

Perhaps this one's right up your alley
No lovers to dilly or dally
No Chasm, no Fall
No action at all!
It's just Lilly White of the Valley

And this one is right off the map
One-handed lit in your lap
No story, just sex
Inattention to specs
It's the horrible Venus Fly Trap.

And here's one with very low marks
A novice's writing, it harks
Though tortuous bending
There isn't an ending
It's Dogwood so bad that it barks!

The Editor frowns without spite
And longs for a story that's right
"There's not one," he sighs
"I couldn't despise-
I'll plow them all under tonight."

But there's one that will open all doors
The story so strong that it roars
It's perfectly written
The editor's smitten
That Rose in a thousand is - yours!

Find more by Kate Thornton in the Author Index.

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