The Stanzas the Started it All

It all began in one room, one class

In an assignment long ago passed

Ideas from the fog of my mind became a condensed vapor

I couldn't hold with my hands so a held with paper

Followed a rhythm given to me

Each stanza rhyming AABB

Then it was time to add complexity

So I exercised my mental dexterity

I was asked to describe who I am

It was at that moment my existenstial crisis began

What am I and who are we?

I tapped on my desk looking for a good analogy

My paper became a canvas of color

And my words became a plethora of paint

Coming one after another

Expressing thoughts and ideas that were once faint

My teacher was surprised

Once he realized the strength of the message before his eyes

He read it to the class and said I picked up the concept fast

But that was just one teacher and just one class

I began my freshmen year

And is I feared

When I entered my English teacher's class there was no poetry there

Honors English students were told to beware

The grading system was unfair

But I didn't care

Because I was told that was where I belong

So I tried to be strong

But all along

I knew silently

That class wasn't right for me

I only wrote two poems in that class

But I used "too many e's" and I barely passed

By Junior year, I had enough of that

So I left that class and never looked back

Now I'm dedicated to self-expression

Now I'm going back to where it all began

I'm writing poems and writing stories

But I don't care about the glory

I just have a lot to say

That is how I got here today