[This poem was written at the end of  a very long and emotionally tiring week. It may not be the most put together or fluid poem I've ever written, but it helped me work through a lot of frustration and anger that I felt when I was told that I could not claim ownership over my own words after I shared them with someone.]

 

 

 

I've been told that

poems are no longer yours when you write them

and the words you so lovingly placed onto the page

one at a time

belong to whoever wants to claim them.

 

I've been told that anyone and everyone can claim that my words

have their meaning and they can

warp and twist them to say things I never meant,

and that they can take my words as their own 

as if once I write those words down 

I can no longer hold any meaning to them.

 

I've been told that the entirety of my poem and all its value

lies in the eyes of each viewer.

 

To be honest with you, it made me not want to write

It made me not want to share my poems with others

because they were so special to me that

I wanted them to remain mine.

So I stopped writing.

I stopped until all the unsaid words that I needed to get out

Built up inside of me and began to overflow.

 

And as I wrote down everything I felt

I realized that no matter how many people read my poems,

They were still for me.

All the love and emotions that I poured into my work 

served to make them powerful not only for myself but for so many others.

 

My poems are a portrait of me.

They are my joys, my sorrows, my loves, and my losses.

But the amazing thing is

they can be yours too.