I grew up believing
That poems needed to rhyme
Without rhythm and stanzas
I was perhaps committing a crime
Then one unexpected day
I began not to care
Looking through the window
I was lost in an intent stare
And I realized in that moment
That the rules didn’t have to exist
Even though scholarly persons
Did often persist
I began feeling the pull
To write whatever I wanted
No matter the amount of lines
I couldn’t allow myself to be stunted
So without losing another moment
I began this journey of writing
I gathered my pen and paper
And decided to write something exciting
Each day I became more eager
Than the day that came before
Because now I was participating
In something I truly adored
Nobody could tell me
I was doing it all wrong
For the words flooded my soul
Like an old forgotten song
And I finally remembered
Who I was deep inside
The girl who no longer needed
To be completely qualified
I just needed to express
Everything I’d buried in my heart
And I wish I had done this
From the very start
No longer letting others
Tell me what to do
I followed my passion
And then I finally grew
I learned to stop letting others
Continually hold me back
To take charge of my own life
Even through many attacks
And now I’m happily
Living out my dream
An amazing realization
I could have never foreseen
© 2018 Michelle Cook
Originally written, October 2016
A beautiful sense of release in this one. Thanks for sharing.
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You’re most welcome, I’m so glad you liked it. 🙂
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Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet and commented:
Come learn about thinking outside the box as a poet in – “Rule Breaker”.
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Thanks so much for sharing this! 😉
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Bravo, Michelle. This is beautiful.
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Thank you so much Jennie. Have a Happy Easter. 🌷
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You’re welcome. Happy Easter, Michelle.
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Thanks! 😉
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You’re welcome.
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This spoke to me in more ways than one.Beautifully done.
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Aww…. I’m glad. Thank you… 😉
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Brava, my friend!! ❤️
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Thanks Dorinda 😉
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Always my pleasure. M 🙂
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I love this!
It makes me want to shout, “You go, girl! You show those rules and haters what’s what.” 😀
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Oh this made me laugh! Thank you… I think the longer I live, the more often I have this incessant need to break the rules.
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I really like this! It is not without rhythm, stanzas and rhyme! Brilliant! ☺💛👏
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Which always makes me chuckle when I read it back because it’s a contradiction in words. Lol… 😉
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I was actually saying that in a polite way, lol. ☺💛
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Lol… 😉
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And may I say how lovely you look in your new gravatar!
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Thank you… thought it was about time I took down my Christmas photo. Lol..
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It’s a great pic ☺
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In the last 20 years or so, I find that the tables have turned…rhyme is the crime! Lol also pattern poetry
Great job!💗 fairly brilliant!
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Thank you Laura. I agree, and nowadays a publisher will hardly touch a book full of rhyming poetry. I think it works much better with children’s books these days.
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Indeed! 😁💗
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Though, I miss so many greats that do. I appreciate many types and varieties. Poetry in and of its self, more than any other genre, should be a free expression and not dictated nor controlled by such whims. Write On!
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So very true! Thanks Laura… Hope you’re having a blessed holiday weekend!
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You too M!💗
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Thanks! 😉
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I love this. Such a flawless flow to it.
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Thank you… I wrote this a few years ago and I remember how easy the words came to me that day.
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