7. appropriation

you know what i
think about every
once in a while?
appropriation.
it gets talked up
in the art world,
and it’s a topic
i question with
all of my poems.

see, here’s the thing:
i’m a poet, yes, but
i never really read
or studied poetry
before i started to
write out my own.
i always respected
edgar allan poe, and
maya angelou as well,
and i recently came to
admire sylvia plath, but
i don’t really read it much
during my own spare time.

and i think about this
idea of appropriation,
because i’m a poet and,
having not really studied
or learned about poetry
from a historical or, say,
cultural standpoint, i ask
if i’m appropriating at all.

most of my inspiration
comes from music, and
the music world is in a
funny time, where we
have new rappers that
come in and make music
without studying or even
thinking about the culture
or the original creatives,
they just get bored and
go where the money is.

it’s looked down on there
in the music world, but do
the same principles apply
to me, writing my poems?

i’m scared to find out.