I

i am
who i am
here
standin' alone
being myself

but who am i

i am you

imperfect
yet creative

average
yet interesting

quiet
yet maintaining
a demanding prescence

i am
a poet
tempting the Muses
inspiring the masses
and sometimes
fulfilling the prophecies
but only
sometimes

i am
a musician
channeling the past
legends
to come alive
through my words
never to be left
rejected
by the minds
of digital
synthesized
sampled
teeny boppers

i am
cat stevens
jim morrison
jimi hendrix
prince
tupac

i am
a speaker
of a muted
generation
that by Fate
i was
blessed
to be a
part of
the puzzle

i come
in the name of
all the misunderstood
underestimated
and downright
hated
children of a new world
who dared
to dream beyond
your rules and regulations

the depravation of a higher education
to uphold
your stigmatized
mental vegetation

but no more

i won't be
a puppet
pulled by the strings
of your
Holy Gepetto

i am
a poet of God
writing verses
to the
never-ending
Poet's Bible
containing the words
of the Creator's
great beatnick
slam
and free verse
prophets
e.e. cummings
walt whitman
allen ginsburg
saul williams
and i

i am
a free bird
wings spread
soaring into
the pastel

red blue purple green

horizon of a
new day dawning

would you
like to fly with me

i am
last but never least
a legacy

my father
so feared the world
he left
his only forgotten son
to bear the burden
of his sins

made in his own image

so i am
who i am



© 2003 Joshua Stewart