Fresh Seeds

As I lay in my bed at 11:15 at night trying to write my entire English paper on my phone, I realize I’m not that good of a writer.

I’m trying to convince myself that all I need is a hot cup of tea, and a good book. Then I’ll be ready to spill my masterpiece on the pages.

Or transport the reader to a place they’ve never been before. But that never seems to work. I always end up right here, at 11:15 at night with eraser marks and crumpled up papers.

I’m not a good writer.

So, just imagine a coffee shop on the upper east side of town. Hipsters on the left, hippies on the right.

Everything is far out but not too mainstream. It’s Open Poetry Night. I’ve never been to poetry slam, nor have I ever written poetry.

An elderly woman in a hot pink dress is standing on-stage, shouting her truth into a wet microphone. After every pause you could hear the fingers of the crowd snapping uncontrollably.

Poets are saying exactly what they are feeling and people feeling exactly what they say.

This is type of magic I had never felt before. Something so pure.

In that moment, I quickly went into my phone notepad and typed manically. Somehow I was able to produce words like I had never been able to write.

I was mesmerized by the idea of being able to write whatever I wanted.

The poems didn’t have to have paragraph indentions, Times New Roman font, or transition words.

And that’s what I liked most about it. I gave the audience my soul and in return they gifted me with their snaps.

We’ve all been told to color in the lines and if we don’t our picture will somehow turn out wrong.

All my life I've been told to crumple up my piece paper and start over. So that’s what I did.

Until, I discovered poetry.

Poetry has taught me that words don’t just have meaning but power.

The words I say in my poems can inspire and help people. Which means more to me than anything else.

I’m sorry I can’t identify the use of consonance in a paragraph, or memorize the antonyms for vocab words.

But I can write a metaphorical poem that can bring you to your knees. And I can say simple words that can make you think about life differently.

Why? Because I’m that good of a writer.