DEAR POEM (Poem)

Hey y’all.

The prompt for Day 12 of National Poetry Writing Month is to write a poem that addresses itself or some aspect of its self (i.e., “Dear Poem,” or “what are my quatrains up to?”; “Couplet, come with me . . .”)

Here’s my poem:

DEAR POEM

By Farah Lawal Harris, © 2023

Dear poem,

How does it feel to go from

a tool of trauma to one of joy?

When I was a girl, you were a boy

I crushed on. So shy, I

hid my love letters and

swore that I’d return.

I did—scorned,

burning with rage

with nowhere to put it but on a page.

Poem, how does it feel to be sage?

To purify and cleanse,

protect and defend?

Dear poem,

Are you meant to be performed or read?

Sometimes I’m too in my head,

turning creative expression into confessions.

Between metaphor and simile,

you hold the deepest parts of me.

Thank you for documenting my journey,

for being the words before I say “Amen”

a vehicle for reality and pretend.

You are my friend.