My wife tells me that my writing's mediocre
Maybe it's not my writing, maybe it's my performance
Either way, she doesn't think that it's up to par with the elite
The people that I came up with, like Poetri, Sekou, Shihan, In-Q, Jaha, Omari, Bridget Gray, Rachel Kahn, Ratpack Slim, and on, and on
Which turns my confidence to doubt, makes me think, what's it all about?
Why would the person that's closest to me undermine my ability?
Take a pin and push it into the balloon that is my perception of reality?
Unless she's just being honest... is that what it is?
Is it honesty that's fucking with me?
If I have a problem with honesty, then why the hell did I decide to take up poetry?
Am I just another poet that pads out the Open Mic Night that no one actually comes to see?
Is this as good as I'll ever get, never able to compare with the talents of Sekou or Gerry Quigley?
Is that what drives me to rhyme all the time, even though when I first started writing this, I was just telling a story?
I know I'm not stagnant, once I see a mistake, I'll try to fix it immediately
So, fuck rhyming... I'm breaking past that barrier even though I know that that makes me a monologist and not a poet, "free verse" is an excuse, not a style
I know I'm not mediocre for the simple fact that I'm not satisfied with the prospect of mediocrity
I want to be something more, I know that I'm capable of achieving more than the level that I'm at
That I happened to come up around such a depth talent is not just not my fault, it's also not a fault at all
I played the best to be the best, and that's exactly what I intend to be
Now, all I have to do to prove it is win a Tony, be cast as a poet on Oz, win the Indies and Team Competitions at the Nationals, and be requested to speak at colleges year 'round
Well... deep breath... My name is Dingo, I'm a Slam Poet, and I stand ready, willing, and able. I will arise above mediocrity.
