A Poem To Be Forgotten Poem by Kerry Jackson Kay

This is a poem they don't want you to memorise.
You will not be required to answer questions on it
Nor be expected to ask any of your own.

This poem does not demand exclusivity
Of your scholarly attention or intellectual curiosity.
Your freedom of thought is enough.

This poem is technically invalid.
There are no clever exploitations of syllabic forms, couplets, triplets or alliterations.
Call it an unrhymed tercet if you must
But expect resistance.

This poem was not conceived in the heart of an empire
Made great by conquest, suppression and slavery.
This poem will never be considered great.

This poem contains no stirring nationalism,
Pastoral nostalgia or comforting institutional order.
You may or may not consider yourself moved.

This is a poem they don't want you to memorise
But feel free to do so if you wish
And always ask questions of your own.