I Don’t Write for Fame or Fortune
Free Verse
I don’t write for fame or fortune,
even though both could set me free
from wasting away my life
working only to scrape by,
saying “yes” to everything
that everyone else demands,
leaving little room to breathe —
I am always in a rush,
but life feels like a rush to nowhere,
leaving no space for me.
I don’t write for fame or fortune,
even though life has punished me
and it cost me dearly
to hold onto my soul
like it’s better than gold,
but the crowd jeers
and says that my soul
should turn into a cheap commodity
and maybe then
I will finally be profitable.
They leave me out in the cold
while they worship and fawn over
the next new viral star
with vulgar humor
and the imagination of a gnat,
so I walk like a stray dog
on the street,
wondering if anyone would take pity.
