Best Poems Written by Oluwakemi Akanle

The Question

So what do you want to be 
You want to represent your own culture
Give me a break 
Your culture has a patent 
For 
“Those who are not a failure to their parents”
“Those who choose a respectable job”
“Those who don’t wait”
“Those who are warriors” 
That is YOUR culture, and no offense but you did not fit the criteria
But then I think 
How am I the failure if they chose to have me
How is my following my passions as work not respectable 
How do I not wait, when all I have done in a country is carry the weight 
How am I not a warrior when I have been at war with myself almost every day
Yet that is still not the question
The only question is why don't I believe it
Why don’t I believe this when the truth is glaring at me 
Is it because I am weak or meek or scared to dream 
Or did they do me in good was this all a part of their plan 
So I never succeed 
Or is this just the very heavy price of the American dream.

Copyright © Oluwakemi Akanle | Year Posted 2021