It started out as an assignment,

Write this, write that, turn it in,

But, to me, it became something more.

 

Free poems, no rules, just extras in the assignment,

They became more than just a grade,

I started writing about what mattered to me,

Some poems that I have never shown were written,

Others that I am proud for people to see.

 

That assignment gave me a way,

A way to write what I feel,

To get it out of my mind and onto something tangible.

 

Now, a bad day or a great day,

A beautiful scene, story in my mind, or lyric in a song,

Can easily find its way onto my paper.

 

Now, when I am overwhelmed, 

Writing what flows freely frees me,

In the hardest times,

Beautiful words,

Even if they are hard to write or read,

Help me lighten my load.

 

An assignment in school,

Something not many took seriously,

It changed my life,

Gave me a way to express myself,

Neatly typed assignments became messily scrawled jewels,

Worth everything to me.