The Best Teacher

Poetry is a teacher unlike any other

it is a fickle master, to be sure

not just inculcating blind fealty,

yet demanding an apprentice’s self-respect

for themselves and the world around them

Yet it taught me to restrain such generic platitudes.

For such a creative discipline

that connects thoughts to paper

weaving words like a seamstress fabric

with a precise impact of a surgeon’s scalpel

yet harnessing the impact of the mighty pen, truly stronger than the sword

words bind all people, yet poetry takes, I find

this bond a step further

this step is what I’ve yet to master.

To create great pieces,

is to see your surroundings

why run through life, when

taking a stroll in looking around

down to the clover growing in the middle of the sidewalk

and questioning why someone would ignore it

through these questions, find the topic someone would write about

if they were to write a lover ode to you tonight

Challenge notions. Challenge the notions that you have tortured yourself with.

Break impossibilities. Break the impossibility that the world is boring and that you will live a normal life.

Defy stereotypes. Defy the stereotypes that have pigeonholed many great people.

Find courage. Find courage through the words that you write and the people you share them with.

Poetry has taught me these things,

A loyal teacher true to its word

a friend, a brother, a sister

whoever you need, anytime and anywhere
 

I have wrote these stanzas

with gentle heart and humble pride

though I will never stop writing, I make to the art of poetry this vow

the page should be turned, the mic should be handed,

to you now.