Art Friday ~ My One Wild and Precious Life

This week’s Art Friday is by Amy Hall

With a background in music journalism and business speak, Amy E. Hall currently focuses her creative writing energy composing free verse poetry and haiku. The southern-born, northern-bred Tennessean has self-published three haiku chapbooks to date, as well as two poetry chapbooks.  Two of her poems appear in the American Civil War-related anthology Filtered Through Time.  Her latest chapbook, Bathroom Poems, promises fun while you flush.  Visit Amy’s poetry blog at lineuponlinepoetry.blogspot.com.

My One Wild and Precious Life

Amy E. Hall

My one wild and precious life
does not belong to my
parents or predecessors
nor to my
pastor or priest or preacher or pope.

My one wild and precious life
does not belong to my
president
or to my
principal
or to my
peers
or the
privileged pillars
of my
patriarchal society.
My one wild and precious life
does not belong to
politicians
or to the
“pretty people”
or the
power hungry
or to my
pocketbook, property or prosperity.
My one wild and precious life
does not belong to a
painful or problematic past
or to
perfectionism
or my
propensity for people pleasing
nor to a
profession, promotion or pursuit of prestige.
My one wild and precious life
does not belong to
purveyors of prejudice
or to
peddlers of propaganda
nor to the
principles that someone else holds.
My one wild and precious life
belongs to me
to protect and preserve it,
to pursue peace,
to practice compassion,
and to progress as the particular person I was put on the planet to be.