The Life I Write May Be My Own

This poem was very much a long time coming, though I really didn't know it.  That is, until I started talking to a friend about my poetry.  The essential thoughts have always been a primary drive for why I write, but thanks to the conversations that friend and I had, I was finally able to put them to poetic use.  That said, I want to extend a very warm thank you to Bianka for sparking the inspiration behind this poem. Thank you Bianka!


The Life You Write May Be Your Own

A long time ago I realized that I should keep writing,
and I should write like my life depends on it.
For the life I write may be my own.
Every syllable, word, comma, period,
apostrophe, pulls it all together,
strings every heartbeat, breath, minute,
day, and beyond, into one continuous life.
A life that lives to learn.
A life that has only just begun to figure out how to just be.

I write like my life depends on it.
Like every word might be my last.
Like each word is more vital than the last.
This life I write just may be my own.
So I scrutinize every word to the letter,
every tense to make sure I live in the present,
a present to unwrap like every day is Christmas,
a gift like every day is my birthday.
I'm that kid wiping the sleep from my eyes. I'm awake.

To everyone I meet, write like your life depends on it.
Treat every word like they are the building blocks to your own Constitution.
Use every word like it's your personal Declaration of Independence,
all of it, because the life you write may be your own.
Know that what you say and how you say it can make you a force that has never before been seen.
Know that even the "unmovable" can be budged, and pushed,
that the word "unbreakable" is just a front. Discover that in your words.
Your words. Fight with them, write with them, write them down,
because the life that you write just may be your own.

For Bianka