No Kind of Writer

You wouldn’t want to write
Anything false to life,
Which has to mean your life,

And so the best writers
Convey their vivid lives,
Their lived lives, their own lives,

Even in full fictions,
Fables and fantasies,
And yet, all that saves them

From mere irrelevance
Is that many readers
And audience members

Identify with them.
So write true to life.
Don’t be a false coward,

But also don’t forget
All the truth of your life
Only counts if others

Find it speaks to the truths
Of their own lives. If not,
You’re no kind of writer.