“Reading well is one of the great pleasures that solitude can afford you.”
-critic Harold Bloom, who first called slam poetry “the death of art.”
I am not a poet. I want to be rich and buy things for my family.
Besides, I am sort of popular and can honestly say I’ve had a great sex life.
I am not a poet. Georgia O’ Keefe paintings do absolutely nothing for me. I do not feel oppressed or depressed and no longer have anything to say about the President.
I am not a poet. I do not like being called an “activist” because it takes away from those that are out on the streets protesting and fighting for our rights.
I am not a poet. I eat poultry and fish and suck way too much dick to be considered a vegetarian.
I am not a poet. I would most likely give my ass up in prison before trying to save it with poetry . . . and I’d like it! Heck, I’d probably be inspired.
I am not a poet. I may value peace but I will not simply use a pen to unleash my anger. I would fuck somebody up if I had to.
I am not a poet. I may have been abused and had a difficult life but I don’t want pity. I believe laughter and love heals.
I am not a poet. I am not dying. I write a lot about AIDS and how it has affected my life but, despite the rumors, I am not positive. Believe it or not, weight loss amongst sexually active gay men could still be a choice.
I am not a poet. I do not get Kerouac or honestly care much for Bukowski.
I am not a poet. I don’t spend my weekends reading and writing. I like to go out and party. I like to have a few cocktails but I do not have a drinking problem regardless of what borough, city or state I may wake up in.
I am not a poet. I don’t need drugs to open up my imagination. I’ve been a dealer and had a really bad habit but that was long before I started writing.
I am not a poet. I can seriously only tolerate about half an hour of spoken word before I start tuning out and thinking about my grocery list or what my cats are up to.
I am not a poet. I only do poetry events if I know there will be cute guys there and I always carry business cards.
I am not a poet according to the scholars and academics and Harold Bloom. I only write to masturbate my mind. After all, fucking yourself is one of the great pleasures that solitude can afford you.
I am not a poet. I am only trying to get attention and convince myself that poetry can save lives when my words simply and proudly contribute to “the death of art.”
(Emanuel Xavier)
More Poetry from Emanuel Xavier:
Emanuel Xavier Poems based on Topics: Anger, Mind, Poetry, Death & Dying, Life, Man, Poets, Literature, Vegetarianism, Family, Imagination & Visualization- WARS & RUMORS OF WARS (Emanuel Xavier Poems)
- WALKING WITH ANGELS (Emanuel Xavier Poems)
- IT RAINED THE DAY THEY BURIED TITO PUENTE (Emanuel Xavier Poems)
- A SIMPLE POEM (Emanuel Xavier Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, Life Poems, Mind Poems, Death & Dying Poems, Art Poems, Belief & Faith Poems, Education Poems, Literature Poems, Anger Poems, Cities Poems, Fame PoemsBased on Keywords: fucking, poultry, dealer, contribute, borough, harold, georgia, drugs, protesting, tolerate, rumors