It’s a Tricky Balance to Stay Authentic

Request. Please don’t use the word
Authentic in reference

To yourself or your efforts.
You’ll just lose the rest of us,

The other words who all lie
Around all day in our sleeves

Being old technology,
Waiting our turns to be played.

At length maybe some writer,
An ambitious novelist,

Someone intending to be
Dangerous comes rummaging

Through us to make a playlist,
To make a play for glory,

Fine, that’s what we were made for,
But starts muttering something

About honesty in art,
About being authentic,

And we all slide from the shelves
To break if we can’t escape.

Nothing wrong with our cousin,
Who is a pretty good word,

But authentic’s authentic
While authors never are, and

If you’re going to lie that
Stupidly, why should we help?