I'm a Writer, Really

While cleaning, I have been through old boxes and stumbling across random notebooks I see where I have jotted down thoughts, to do lists, journal entries - and poems. I love poetry and prose, and though I have written poems here and there since childhood like every other kid, I've never considered myself a poet. I respect poetry a little much to consider my sporadic melodic writings enough to make me a poet.

But that didn't stop the amazing women of JAWS deeming me their poet laureate after on a whim I decided to write and perform a poem for their talent contest. Surrounded by amazing women in journalism who have fought so hard for me and future generations to enter newsrooms and have our high octave voices heard made it easy to sign up when they were looking for acts for the show. I knew I wasn't about to sing or dancing, but writing I can handle. And I was pretty proud of the poem I wrote an hour before the show, and they must have too, as I was asked to perform a new poem at the conference's opening program the next year. Then the poet laureate name came and I was intimidated. Like I mentioned, Im not a real poet. But hearing Connie Schultz speak as keynote, made me question what the notion of a real poet is as she challenged us as woman to stop being our own critics and naysayers with a phrase that stuck of, "You have enough people who will doubt you, don't be one."

So going through my old notebooks I came across a few poetic words that made me realize, well, there may be a poet living in me after all , and she may not appreciate my doubts.

I didn't even remember I jotted a few words after seeing President Obama in Regan a few years back pre-secret service, private planes and a White House Win. But looking through my notebook, there it was.

My President - 3/01/06
I saw you in the airport today.
First thought was I didn't know you flew commercial. . .the poem started

Then there was another I saw from that spring that I knew the pressure to show I hadn't "changed" when I went home and caught up with old friends.

Bad English is sexy.
Ain't that right?
When I be talkin proper,
I'm just trying to be White

Don't need no 't' in yo dis and dat
And when you use a double negative
Girl, now you soundin' Black

But can't I just be talkin' gray?
Proud of my education
and having something conscious to say?