Cliche

I wish
any given cliche
was less useful.
Less of
a semi-holy relic
from a poem
no one recalls
except for that one
live phrase. Less
appropriate in so 
many situations,
and more of a
guaranteed groan
from those who hear it
who then could insist
upon originality
no matter how
inefficient the
subsequent conversation
becomes or how long
it might take 
to say something
as perfect as that
tired spurt of 
fossilized speech 
that everyone 
makes lazy allowance for.
We might have 
to slow down, 
be more precise,
think new, talk
fresh before moving on
to the next chance
to speak and
who could say
what might
come of that?