i'm not a poet

 

i don’t know what people mean 

when they say

to write for yourself, or 

write like no one 

is ever going to see it,

because i always think about people seeing 

my work, even if i am not writing it 

for them. and it’s terrible 

and i hate it, 

because i’m not a poet, 

i’m not a writer, 

i’m just a girl, 

that likes to twist and contort 

words 

to tell stories that swish around 

in her head 

like the bottom of a gauze curtain 

in an afternoon breeze.

i’m not claiming 

to be an artist, i just want 

to show me, i want to show you all 

Me.

(a narcissistic motivation 

that lies 

at the base of us all,

i believe). and so i try 

to write it all out 

because once 

a man told me to act 

on all of my motivations 

except for obligation.