they need my poetry
to be academic,
a puzzle that has to fit a piece,
they ‘need’ me to etch for them
to put them at peace.
let me escape
from their criteria.
the non-perfected grammar that decides how it goes
the line breaks that give flow,
they want me to wear the lenses that fit on ‘their’ nose,
they tell me –
this isn’t academic poetry
- i know,
it’s my poetry.
A Story Factory, Year of Poetry publication.
Year of Poetry is one of Story Factory’s most intensive programs. Throughout 2021, a committed group of young writers came to workshops every Thursday afternoon – first at Story Factory in Parramatta; then, when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, over Discord. Through these and many other disruptions, the young people in this program continued to write and support each other. This chapbook was written as part of that project.
This project was supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.