020250409

Title: who am i 

have i just faced discrimination

was i rejected because of my identity

i submitted a work of art

to be judged and judged it was

my identity came through

even tho the submission

was careful to avoid associating

my work with my identities

my work is my identity

mostly it is clear that my

writing, my poetry

is a stream of consciousness

and that consciousness is

the pure definition of what

mansplaining is

i have a lot to work on

its true

and this feedback 

makes it clear

if i labeled or titled each poem

apparently it would be less of a

stream and make it easier

to read

oddly i lack the ability to title a poem

because i cannot identify what it is 

that it will be for you the reader

so i cannot correctly categorize it

my ability to see your experience

is not something i have enough faith in

to title a poem

titling the collection was difficult enough

but was in it's own way an untitled

poem

one poem was liked enough

to mention

and it's intention my intended message

was reflected back

how many ways we say i love you

some of it critical 

some of it constructive

some of it filled with fear

the collection was said to

make the audience think

storytelling 

sales

is not my strength

mansplaining is not my 

desired way of communicating

but it is likely my crutch

mansplainer is not 

the identity i want to claim

you know what tho

nowhere in this feedback

did it say 

you are not a poet

what i hear was a message from the world

i am not feared

i am loved