I Am Not | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Poetry
  3. Free Verse
  4. I Am Not

I Am Not

January 2, 2013
By StarlitSunrise DIAMOND, Clemmons, North Carolina
More by this author
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND, Clemmons, North Carolina
56 articles 0 photos 253 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing." ~Camille Pissarro

View profile

I am not a poet

Sometimes, I sit down to write
But this is rare
And never really results in much
Because I'm not good at planning

More often it just hits me
And I feel like I will drown
Or dry up in the scorching desert
That is the shower
Where I shampoo my hair

I am not a poet
Because I fully finish washing
Before switching off the tap
And running for a pencil

Actually
I don't even run
And I put some clothes on first

I don't write because I know some lofty truth
Or have seen a deeper side of life
That others can't imagine
Nor do I think
That what I say will make much difference

I am not a poet

I don't go to coffee shops to think
Coffee is too bitter
And expensive
And smooth jazz freaks me out
But not as much as the people who make a habit of listening to it

I don't sit on park benches either
I've never even been able
To keep a tidy notebook

Who has time for that?

I am not a poet
And I think that it is better
To sometimes mutter things
With no intention of ever writing them down
And just enjoy the moment

Deliberation has never worked for me
I'm young, so not much really does yet
But I am not a poet
And I don't have to be profound

Poetry is one of the only places
Where I can go
And just
Be

Who cares about the hand behind the pen?
In words
No one stops to think
About the mouth that whispered them

Take away the rules and suddenly
Those words go flying out
With blinding speed they dive
Their cages long forgotten

I write because I have to
There is chaos everywhere
And everyone in their own way
Has to find a way to love it
Poetry is this for me
But I am not a poet

© Samantha M., Bethel, CT

Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Poetry
Brother
By Anonymous
Poetry
Lightning
By Rachel Bellah BRONZE
Seattle, Washington
Rachel Bellah BRONZE, Seattle, Washington
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment
View profile
Poetry
Cracked vase
By Dale CROUCH PLATINUM
JOPLIN, Missouri
Dale CROUCH PLATINUM, JOPLIN, Missouri
29 articles 9 photos 0 comments
View profile
Poetry
what is it?
By stardom21 BRONZE
Suisun City, California
stardom21 BRONZE, Suisun City, California
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
View profile
Poetry
cry
By carreyelaine GOLD
Arlington, Tennessee
carreyelaine GOLD, Arlington, Tennessee
12 articles 4 photos 1 comment
View profile
Poetry
Unreach Love
By C.J.H. BRONZE
Benciao City, Taipei County, Other
C.J.H. BRONZE, Benciao City, Taipei County, Other
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes the world tries ot knock it out of you. But I believe in music the way that some people believe in fairy tales." August Rush(2007)

View profile

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 12 comments.

StarlitSunrise DIAMOND said...
on Aug. 14 2013 at 5:18 pm
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND, Clemmons, North Carolina
56 articles 0 photos 253 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing." ~Camille Pissarro

View profile
Thanks for reading! I'm so glad you could relate. :)
rachelmuschett GOLD said...
on Aug. 13 2013 at 9:46 pm
rachelmuschett GOLD, Goose Creek, South Carolina
10 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
"heaven's not a place that you go when you die. it's that feeling in time when you feel alive."

View profile
I think this is very relatable to every single young writer on this site, even myself. I love your descriptions on things. Simple, yet captures a lot of feelings. Thanks for sharing! Definitely a 5/5
Rolledthestone SILVER said...
on Mar. 24 2013 at 9:28 am
Rolledthestone SILVER, Nowhere, Other
8 articles 0 photos 108 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." (Matthew 7:5) and "All the poeple who supported slavery were free, all the people who support abortion live..."

View profile
Just wonderful. Sorry for responding late to my forum. But yeah, you are to a poet. Everyone just have different ways of writing.
Anansesem BRONZE said...
on Feb. 21 2013 at 3:06 pm
Anansesem BRONZE, Cave Spring, Georgia
1 article 0 photos 40 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Will our life not be a tunnel between two vague clarities? Or will it not be a clarity between two dark triangles?" ~Pablo Neruda

View profile
I like your tone--somewhere between matter of fact and content. I know how this is. I feel the same way: poetry is just something I do. Actually, the word I use instead is "writer". Q: "What do you do?" A: "I write."
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND said...
on Feb. 17 2013 at 6:52 pm
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND, Clemmons, North Carolina
56 articles 0 photos 253 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing." ~Camille Pissarro

View profile
Thanks! I'll keep an eye out for when your poem is posted. :)
Matthew17 SILVER said...
on Feb. 17 2013 at 12:24 pm
Matthew17 SILVER, Bainbridge Island, Washington
5 articles 4 photos 8 comments
View profile
I really liked this poem! I think that it is very relate able to everyone on this site. I wrote a poem about a similar subject (it hasn't been published yet) but yours makes me very jealous. Great ideas
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND said...
on Feb. 17 2013 at 11:58 am
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND, Clemmons, North Carolina
56 articles 0 photos 253 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing." ~Camille Pissarro

View profile
Many thanks to both of you! I am so glad you could relate to this!
Maggie99 SILVER said...
on Feb. 17 2013 at 11:27 am
Maggie99 SILVER, Versailles, Kentucky
6 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost

View profile
That was wonderful! I agree.
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND said...
on Feb. 17 2013 at 10:44 am
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I&#039;ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. <br /> - Maya Angelou <br /> When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn&rsquo;t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out<br /> The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay<br /> If love produced a blossom/I&rsquo;d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I&rsquo;d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven<br /> And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

View profile
Again Awesome..you know "awesome" is my fav word....This one was real special...I could completely relate...I'm exactly like you in all of those things but the neat notebook thing..hahah....so I guess I'm not a poet either.....Well, truth be told,.. You're an amazing one... I loved checking out  your work :D
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND said...
on Feb. 16 2013 at 1:30 pm
StarlitSunrise DIAMOND, Clemmons, North Carolina
56 articles 0 photos 253 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.&quot; ~Camille Pissarro

View profile
  Haha thanks to both of you!
Jade.I.Am ELITE said...
on Feb. 15 2013 at 8:37 pm
Jade.I.Am ELITE, Fishers, Indiana
214 articles 14 photos 1159 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;If you&#039;re losing your soul and you know it, then you&#039;ve still got a soul left to lose&rdquo; <br /> ― Charles Bukowski

View profile
This was really awesome and interesting, and very well written (even though you're not a poet:) )
bruisedmemories ELITE said...
on Feb. 15 2013 at 5:40 pm
bruisedmemories ELITE, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania
109 articles 10 photos 62 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;When you&#039;re young, you can fly, but we trip on clouds &#039;cause we get too high&quot; -The Band Perry (Song: Don&#039;t Let Me Be Lonely)<br /> &quot;Cause no matter what, you&#039;ll never be alone&quot; -Lady Antebellum (Song: Compass)

View profile
Very unique! Love it!