Why I Write

Why I Write

by Devon N. Austrie

In a world where instances of solace and peace are slim,

Traversing down familiar streets and having to watch your back,

Hear news of individuals murdered, times looking grim,

Looking at the less fortunate on the corners, seeing what they lack

With all of life's problems you stop and wonder:

"What good is there in the world?"

War and violence on our televisions sets

Broken heartedness is inspiration for hit songs

Life, full of pain, and demoralizing regret

You declare "I cannot go on like this for long"

For most people, their getaway is through music

For some people it's through seeing all the sights

For a few people they end up losing it

But for myself it's with a pen and I write.

Why do I write?

I don't write because I'm required to do so in my education

I don't write because it'll follow me the rest of my life

I don't write because of applications or forms

I write because it clears my head of my thoughts

I am not the most prolific of writers

Nor am I among the greatest of wordsmiths 

But writing appeases the anxieties and issues

That a young male minority might have

Whether dealing with an unsettling encounter

Or to find consolation in issues out of hand

Writing is a tool that many people depreciate

And toss aside as just a necessity and nothing more

This poem isn't part of a great Shakespearean novel

Or endowed as one of the greatest pieces ever generated

But this poem is a manifestation of a specific life

Of a young man who's trying to be something

In trying to be something comes trials and tests

Tests that one might find unbearable or unfair

But as a Christian living in a secular world 

God doesn't give out tests to those who can't handle it

These tests will end, the thoughts will subside

And while more of them will arise all at once

I know that clearing my head through writing

Is a privilege I'll never take for granted.