MELISSA LEWIS

 


IF I COULD BE A POEM



If I could be a poem
I would tell you that
music is god
that chocolate can heal anything
that cats are superior to dogs
and that J-Lo isn’t really all that talented

If I could be a poem
I would tell you that
10 bucks is too much to pay for a movie
that drinking light beer will not help you lose weight
that Valentine’s Day is for suckers
and that laughter really is the best medicine

If I could be a poem
I would tell you that
beauty is subjective
that Sex and the City is not real life
that us average people need love too
and that no one ever lives happily ever after

If I could be a poem
I would tell you that
winter kills the soul
that having a job isn’t a bad thing
and that writing poetry about how much you hate your job
isn’t always a good thing

If I could be a poem
I would tell you that
the corporate kitchenette is a bad place to discuss politics
that France is not responsible for our actions
that there is no such thing as freedom fries or freedom toast
and that sometimes it hurts to be American

If I could be a poem
I would tell you that
war for oil is wrong
that peace protests are not always peaceful
that our constitutional right to dissent is not a right to revolt
and that freedom sometimes flips a coin to find a quick solution

If I could be a poem
I would tell you that
some people can read a speech without knowing what the words mean
that hate burns bridges never crossed
that the world is not a chessboard
and toppling the king does not mean you’ve won
 


Melissa Lewis is a native of Northeastern Pennsylvania who now resides in New York City. She has performed as a featured reader for the Saturn Series at Nightingale in New York and for Monochrome Mondays at the Rodeo-Ristra lounge in Hoboken, NJ. More of her poetry can be seen on www.wildpoets.com and www.roguescholars.com.

 

Copyright © 2004 by Melissa Lewis.

Material may not be reprinted without prior written permission.

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