Can I call myself a poet, just for writing poetry?
For bleeding from my heart, words that you may never see?
Can I call myself a poet, if the words come naturally?
Even if the rhyme or flow isn't good enough for me?
Surely, I could be a poet, for feeling every line
For leaking letters you can feel, even though they are mine
If you read this and relate, then it may be a sign
That you also wonder if, you're a poet by design
But can I call myself a poet, if I don't follow the 'rules'?
The guide that makes it 'poetry', like they taught us in the schools?
If you ask me, the ones who made that guide are fools
That's like a jewler telling me that diamonds cannot pass as jewls
So yes, we are poets, when words explode from inside
From our happiness, anger, or tears we have cried
When words resurrect pieces, of us, that we thought had died
If they say you aren't a poet, I say they have lied.
-j.h.s.