Traditions And Specifics Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

This journey I began,
Started for me many years ago.
So save your pretense and flattery.
They do nothing for my ego.

So regard my expressions,
Not poetry at all.
And by use of academic standards,
What I do does not fit a mold they can recall.

And I wonder if Shakespeare,
Or Maya Angelou or Langston would approve...
If Nikki Giovanni,
Said it differently than Sonia Sanchez.
Or if Harriet Beecher Stowe,
Thought Mark Twain...
Or Edgar Allan Poe were shallow poets?
And if she did...
What makes her or the others,
Authorities to know?
How talents such as these are bestowed.

Especially when times move on!
And mentalities 'should' grow!
Beyond the halls of formal education.
Where some still seek to teach and be taught.

Like those who are of conceptual talents.

And few of those have not been shown.
Or at least in some places,
Not yet exposed...
To innovative thinking.
With a dose of creativity imposed.

So many are threatened,
By the unknown!

This journey I began,
Started for me many years ago.
So save your pretense and flattery.
They do nothing for my ego.

In fact...
Egos seem to be attached,
To those limited to academics.
And intellectually gifted...
To analyze and dissect,
What has already been depicted.
And devoid of the 'what ifs' of life...
Those who are 'curious' enjoy.

Those who are annoyed by others!
The ones intellectualizing,
Traditions and specifics.