Robert J. Maxie | Life-Built Poems

Here is another powerful poem by spoken poet Robert Maxie, Jr. He is sixteen years old and has been writing poetry since the age of seven. He has his own You-Tube site and his first book, BLEEDING INK, was published this year. More are on the way….

He says, “This poem is extremely important to me and my life. It’s a constant reminder that I’m not alive to make sure that I do and say what pleases everyone around me. That kind of life is unsustainable. Instead, I want to make sure that I’m saying and living my life the way I want to.”

A wise young man.

I did not speak much when I was a child
They asked me to speak, so I spoke
I spoke of whatever my mind could conjure up
hoping that the abundance of words
would make them like me more
I was wrong
They said I was annoying
That I talked to much
They asked me to be quiet
So I shut my lips and sewed them shut to please them
Hoping that they would love me more
I was wrong
They told me I was antisocial and quiet
So I was friendly and outgoing and I spoke what I thought
They told me my thoughts were wrong, that I still talk too much
So I hid my thoughts and agreed with whatever they said
Hoping they would want me more
I was wrong
They called me a follower and gullible
So I led my own path and said what I thought,
hoping they would love me more
I was wrong
They hated me for my diversity
They abused me and made me an outcast
I starved myself to death trying to feed everyone else
People don’t want you to think
People don’t want you to speak,
they want you to shut up
especially when you have something important to say
For if thought corrupts language,
language will also corrupt thought.

© Robert J. Maxie, Jr., 2017

Header photo credit: “Bunker Hill” by KayVee, Inc. via Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0]

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HOPE IS A LIE

Netta Comments 4 comments

This poem was written by Robert J. Maxie, Jr, who has a You-Tube channel that features his spoken poems. (Do check out his poetry site on Wattpad for more of his work.) Robert recently independently published a book of poetry as well, BLEEDING INK, which is available on Amazon.com.

He says, “The back story of this poem isn’t as much in the past as it is what I’m living. I oftentimes recently have found myself in situations where I feel hopeless and powerless.

“This poem is a reminder to me that I can’t live that way. That if I let myself lose hope I won’t be able to make it.”

A wise young man….

The words of his poem are powerful:

HOPE IS A LIE

The truth is a blinding light
Shining over an ocean of lies
Gliding on black skies
On wings of fear and rage
It’s a rushing river that empties lakes
A hungry beast that takes and takes
A monster that terrifies
An ever living hawk
Scouting the skies
Bringing death to all
Because hope is the ultimate lie
A lie that lives on as long as the light is gone
Hope survives when hidden from the truth
Hope is the noble lie staying my soul from chaos and rage
Hope is a cage
Hope is control
Hope is a blinder over my eyes
And now that hope is gone
And all that’s left is an infinite
Black void through which I cannot find my way
Without my hope
Without my faith I stumble even though my eyes are open and my path is empty
I am blind to trouble
Though I see
Everything

by Robert J. Maxie, Jr.

Header picture credit: Black Storm Petrel by Trish Gussler [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]

[Please note: If any of you would like to contribute a poem, please let me know by leaving a comment below…. I’d be happy to hear from you. Click here to access the Guest Poet Portal.]

Thanks for your visit. I’d appreciate it if you’d drop a comment or note below and tell me your thoughts….

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