Dick my boss told me decades ago
"Easier to ask for forgiveness
than for permission"
as we spent millions of
dollars of
someone else's taxes
without asking
only telling
Today authors jobs
tough as nails
'cause every word or lyric's
been hashtagged before
and our job to twist them
to make our own
With 17 million books
on Amazon today
over 300k published new
annually
and that's just here
With tweets and captions and bon mots and sayings
quips and quotes and sound bites galore
who could ever be sure
it hasn't been said before
I can't
So Google is best bud, my pal, my friend
And when I find
words from someone else
I want to ask permission
really
But none tell you how
not even a tweet
how to obtain
a Right to Use
so I can make a few bucks
using mostly mine
and fewness of their's
Writing letters to the Editor
the Times called and asked
for sources –
never did in past editions
Publishers and editors
demand the same
every one
before they'll print
commercially
When once found
these original sources
only delay response
perhaps emails back and forth
"How many words (do you intend to use)?
and they have hidden magic price lists
they won't share
"Six bucks per copy
for 3,000 words."
And I don't know
if Mister King or
only Simon & Shuster
keeps the dough
And the delay
rather than money
kills the project
unless self-published
So that's just what I'll do
and to hell with you
who create deep bottomless
hell pits
Sue my LLC if you
care too
Original prose poem by Rodney Richards 7-4-15
Author's note: Based on true stories