Aspire to write a banned book Describe the human condition So thoroughly So honestly Others find if vulgar Tell a story so devastatingly true The pearl-clutchers swoon from their shock Real life Real experience Is not sanitary It is not "golly gee!" and "oh, my!" Real stories Real living Is dirt covered Blood stained Disturbing Realness is a dystopia covered in expletives and epithets Characters spitting fiery words like "FUCK!" "SHIT!" And "You God-damned, MOTHER FUCKER!" While thumbing their noses and erecting middle fingers In real stories the hero's journey is never facile It's not sanitized or resolved in three acts In real stories antagonists are Insidious Oppressive Outrageously powerful The game is rigged Injustice systemic The ruling class held aloft and apart Tucked safely into their delusion of their goodness and security Benefiting remorselessly from the oppression they enable In contrast the rest of society scraps and scrapes Dreaming of freedom unattainable Reveling in whatever joys afforded them Praying that they can meet the next hardship Survive the next day Provide a better future for their progeny I implore you to write a story that reflects hope in survival Pen a tale that may not have a happy ending Hold a mirror up to the world in which we live Let those who would look away See their villainy reflected back at them And let those who are not seen Be held glorious in the spotlight Because their existence matters I hope you write a disruptive book An honest book A book full of the truths of living in an unbalanced world I hope you see it move from the bestseller feature table To the dusty banned books shelf Then you will know you understood the assignment
My soul vibrates Longing to be a conduit for creation The spark burns high and hot My hands long to be covered in Ink Paint Pastels To fill blank pages with worlds That only exist in the nebula inside me Demanding to birth a thousand stars Urgent and consuming I long to surrender to the deflagration Of creative energy Igniting a conflagration Leaving me empty and sated Surrounded by pages filled with words Dipped in vivid colors and Complex textures Tangible, living pieces of me Like so many falling leaves in autumn