My Strife with the Unknown

It is simple to believe as a youth.

Believing in charm as a naive pet

Wast in fact not the case f’r me at all.

Wast I le’ry and inconvincable,

The unseemly duckling of their skein,

Pushed to the verge for my absurd thoughts

I hath lost mine own voice the more I spoke

My words drifted endlessly in the sea

They failed to float up among the surface.

Who is to decide the validity

Of being perfect as a peony,

Born to blossom and radiate goodwill,

When the inevitable outcome is

A consolation of broken souls thus

Drifted by the swaying winds of the Earth.

If purity is crushed so easily,

Are there any good souls left in this world

Or is’t all yond those swimmeth further down

Such liketh Peter which hour that gent

Becameth frightful of walking above

The waking of the water with Jesus

As he heard the whirling whips of the wind.

Who is to decide the validity

Of power and superiority?

Much like a quake shaking all of the Earth

Can thee obtaineth physical power?

Can thee obtaineth mental power?

Which palmy sir defines intelligence?

Among these water drops in the ocean

It is decided by Him- the creator

O He that Bringeth the beauties of life

Is the cause to my strife with the unknown.

Avanti, 17, attends Johns Creek High School and enjoys drawing and painting in her free time. Avanti also created the artwork for this piece.

VOX’s Atlanta Word Works program offers free bi-monthly workshops for spoken word and written poetry with a focus on healing and social justice led by our AWW Alumni. Workshops will kick off this fall and be held on Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Please visit the Atlanta Word Works page or contact Josie@VOXAtl.org for details.

Keep a lookout for open mics in October and December and submit any poetry for publication to editor@voxatl.org.