Rate:0.0 / 0 votes

As If I Knew What I Should Do

Jonathan D. Murray 1985 (Queens, New York)

February 23 
Free verse
Is It On Me
To Wage a War
I Was Raised To Ignore
To Lift a Sword
Forged Before I Was Born
To Heal a Scar
Ancient Yet Still Bleeding
To Love a World
That's So Unwelcoming
To Live My Life
As If I Knew
What I Should Do
It Is On Me

About this poem

Summer 2020 was a difficult time. The terrible disease of racism infecting the United States hit close to home when my wife's sister married a white nationalist. Suddenly I - a struggling writer/developer with ADHD and GAD - felt a great responsibility to address this problem. Not just in my personal life, but for the entire country. I fixated a lot that summer about how I could single-handedly solve a centuries old systemic issue that I grew up believing was already fixed. I tried many times since then to put those thoughts and fears into a poem. Early this morning was the first time I felt happy with how they came together. 

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on February 10, 2023

Submitted by jonsnotes on February 10, 2023

Modified on April 04, 2023

16 sec read
59

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBCDEFGFHIIA
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 227
Words 53
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 13
Full analysis for As If I Knew What I Should Do »

Jonathan D. Murray

Jonathan D Murray was born in Queens, New York and grew up sharing his creative writing to strangers via his 56K modem. He currently lives in White Plains, New York where he grapples with ADHD and anxiety while writing on micro poetry for his social media feeds. more…

All Jonathan D. Murray poems | Jonathan D. Murray Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem As If I Knew What I Should Do with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "As If I Knew What I Should Do" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/153041/as-if-i-knew-what-i-should-do>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Jonathan D. Murray

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    11
    days
    4
    hours
    51
    minutes
    79 entries submitted — 71 remaining

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Our awesome collection of

    Promoted Poems

    »

    Browse Poetry.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which famous poet wrote the epic poem "Paradise Lost"?
    A Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    B William Wordsworth
    C John Milton
    D John Keats