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Why I Wrote this Poem
I didn’t write this poem
Because I was supposed to.
I didn’t write this poem
to talk about my feelings.
I didn’t write this poem
to talk about the world.
I didn’t write this poem
to make anyone cry
or laugh
or scream
Or have a bad dream
I didn’t write this poem
To convey a message or theme.
I didn’t write this poem
To make some rhymes
I didn’t write this poem
To waste your time
I didn’t write this poem
About punishment and crime
I didn’t write this poem
So I could philosophize.
I didn’t write this poem
To give you a history lesson
I didn’t write this poem
to make you stop and listen
I didn’t write this poem
because life sucks
because people die every second
because some of those people kill themselves
because there are at least 32 ongoing wars right now
that in the end don’t solve a problem but make more
I didn’t write this poem
Because there are people who haven't eaten in days
Just waiting for the day they collapse into their grave
There are people whose life has forever changed
While rich people sit back as their life is always the same.
I didn’t write this poem
To talk about all the good getting punished
And all the bad getting rewarded
About the rich getting richer
And the poor getting poorer
The privileged gaining privilege
And the oppressed getting oppressed
About the kids getting kidnapped
By the cruel kidnappers
Or about the dying people dying
In the hands of powerful people
Who are getting more powerful.
I didn’t write this poem
So you can go out into the world
And stand up for what’s right
I didn’t write this poem
So you could feel sympathy
or guilty
Or angry
I didn’t write this poem
To make you feel any way at all and
I especially didn’t write this poem
For you to have fun.
I didn’t write this poem
For me to have fun.
I didn’t write this poem
For people to be amazed
And to want to write poems like me
I didn’t write this poem
To win the slam
I didn’t write this poem
To be a poet in the future
I didn’t write this poem
For you to do something about it.
I didn’t write this poem
To do as little work as possible
I didn’t even write this poem
to get it over with, no,
I didn’t write this poem for any of these reasons.
I wrote this poem because
if I didn’t, no one would.
Copyright ©
Tamir Banks
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