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