#NaPoWriMo Day 3: What Am I Doing Here, Anyway?

I have to say, I am on a roll this year with the poems. 

Usually, I have to think long and hard, but after a year of not writing at all, I find myself writing poetry more easily. Am I sending in poems late in the day? Yeah, but that’s because my work day wraps up at 7PM. It’s hardly ideal, but it is what it is! I think, if I didn’t have my day job, I’d probably still be writing every single day on this blog. Who knows what direction that might have taken, in the last two and a half years! But here’s the thing: I used to think that this blog could sustain itself, when I decided to start it, and boy was I in for a rude awakening.

Well, it takes a hell of a lot of discipline to keep something going. And unfortunately, it also takes a lot of hard work, and quite a bit of time that I don’t seem to have these days. It’s the sad reality of being a working adult and having actual responsibilities in life. 

Which brings me to the prompt for day 3, given by napowrimo.net. The prompt was to write a poem talking about why I’m a poet, and not any other kind of artist, in a very roundabout manner. Now, as someone who has always wondered why I am doing a day job I swore I would never do, instead of dedicating my life to the art I love so much, this prompt sang to me! It was just what I needed to write about today, and even if it wasn’t for today’s prompt, I think I might have written about it anyway.

I just want everyone who reads this poem, and those who can relate, to know that it’s never too late for you to go back to the things you’re passionate about. The best part of any of it is that what you love doing will never cease to be a part of you. 

That said, here’s today’s poem! I hope you like it.

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Look–

I wasn’t meant to be doing this,
And I’ve known it in my very core.
It’s all one has ever heard me say,
“Dead-ends serve no purpose,
What a shame it’s where I am!
What a waste of potential! What a bore!”

But here’s the thing!

I’m no creative genius,
Although I think I might be–
You’d find hundreds of thousands,
If not millions, just like me,
Battling deadlines with each sunrise,
Spent of mind’s ink and energy.

But what’s the point of any of it?

Words come naturally to me,
A poet is who I have always been,
I twirl around with words endlessly,
I write in ink of colours unseen–
Not the kind of writer they want me to be,
Where is writing sales pitches getting me?

I’ll admit!

My curiosity leads me to places
I would never dare to go,
But oh, where else could I ever sing
The praises of all the beauty in the world?
My poetry is where I can be true,
It’s the only truth I’ll ever know.

And, no!

I refuse, with my entire chest!
My very being is against it,
I’m no creative genius,
Perhaps not in the way they perceive;
I’m only another artist,
A new set of eyes to see the old,
I’ve always been a writer. A poet. 

So why am I in this race I don’t want to run?
What am I doing here, anyway?

~© Shubhangi Srinivasan

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Hi there! 
Hello and welcome (or welcome back) to my blog! I hope you like today’s poem. I’d like to think it’s honest and relatable, as most of my work tends to be. If you liked it, please do let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from more of you and interact with more writers on the page. And if you’d like it, I would also like to see more of you on my socials because there’s nothing better than a community of like-minded people who love art the same way I do.
Here’s to yet another day of #NaPoWriMo, and doing what we love best! 
Until tomorrow, then?
Cheerio! Xx

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Featured Image by Samantha Gades on Unsplash