“The Power of the Word”

Somebody once asked me: “Why poetry? What’s the deal with it? What’s so special about spoken word? The world doesn’t need another poet”

I told them: Well, hold up, sweetheart, let’s get it together, because 
I’m about to drop all of this on you:
You see…

Words can create
Words can uplift 
Words can bring you down
Words can get you cancelled 
Words can build a future

You may ask “what is the purpose of poetry? what is the power of the word?” 
You forget words are what gave you power over nature
As language made it possible to speak to the gods
I tell you poetry is kissing that power from above, from below, from within

Kissing it and using the rhythm of the words to summon this deep, soft, smooth, warm fire
you’ve come to call your voice
A voice that holds the magic to create a moment in space and time
Between you and I
No air, no shame,  no rush
Every worry you could feel, all gone
With the power of the word

A word that once said “I have a dream…” and it resonated in the skins 
of a million black histories and the many more to come 
A word that once said #metoo and it liberated women from their oppressors 
and their prisons of shame, disgust and assault
A word that once said black lives matter, trans lives matter 
A word that once said nobody is free until every single one of us is free
Until refugees are safe, until queer kids are protected and seen

You see…
A poet harnesses the words to share that power,
Inspire minds and hearts that want to break free 
A poet creates a vision of a world that doesn’t exist just yet 
But it’s about to begin