don't write

don't write to be loved,
or for money or fame.
don't write
if it's too hard, if the words
don't come
as you hunch over
the keyboard, stop
if you can't think of a thing
that's boiling out
of you.
don't write
to impress, to be read,
to be hailed as
some sort of creative
genius.
throw down the pen if it's
too difficult,
too shallow
and not from the heart.
move on, move on to other
things if you can't find
the words
or the time, or you're too
busy
to even start.
don't write, don't fool
yourself
and waste your time.
it's not for you.
the bookstores yawn with
your kind of writing.
the shelves sag with defeat.
don't write if it's not
like beams of light
emanating from you soul.
don't write.