Born Like This

All my books are available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thomas-W.-Case/author/B0CL2RKDGX?ref=ap

Poetry wasn’t a choice.
It showed up at my door
like a small, rabid animal
I needed to nurture.

Like a scar,
like my eye color.

Before book sales,
before applause,
before anyone gave a damn.

I was jaded by color.
Sunsets weren’t cute.
They were edible �"
pink and orange,
soul food.

It burned my tongue,
made me breathe deep,
made me want to capture them
with words.

Pain had a smell �"
lonely, bitter,
like stale beer,
familiar before it made sense.

The world rushed at me �"
too loud,
too sharp,
too close.

Poetry was how I survived it.
Pen and paper,
faithful and warm.

I don’t write for followers
or fame.
I write because
a blank page
was never an option.

Author's Note

I just posted a new long-form reading on my YouTube channel — the first half of my short story Whoops! along with two poems, There Was a Time Without the Internet and Under My Bed.
If you’d like to hear the pieces read aloud, here’s the link:

👉 YouTube Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq0UTaJahjg

All my books are available on Amazon.
Thanks for reading and for all your support.

Reviews

[Amy R]

I really like this poem, this reminded me of how I discovered poetry.
VERY WELL WRITTEN.
"Poetry was how I survived it.
Pen and paper,
faithful and warm." this sums up why I writer, to survive through emotions passing in my life's journey.
AND I liked the ending stanza, "I write because a blank page was never an option." Brilliant.
~Amy

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, Amy. I appreciate it.

[Amy R]

You're welcome,
Merry Christmas, do enjoy!

[Kane Hagwood]

That last line of the poem strikes hard.
"I didn't write for followers or fame. I write because a blank page was never an option."

I've spent so much time obsessing over monetizing my work and making a name for myself in the literary world, but a part of me forgot *why* I started in the first place. It was to nurture who I was, even when the world was too hard and sharp to even care about my name. This poem came to me as a little reminder, it seems, that the true purpose of writing is to write. The rest will come when the it comes.

[Thomas W Case]

That is so true. We write because we have to. Thanks for stopping by.

[Pete]

good rhythm to this with great descriptions. there is a chilling reality to here. very honest and telling. amazing how we can find our true selves even in the depths of hell. i've written many a poem while wandering the streets and picking through dumpsters - those are the best ones!

[Thomas W Case]

So very true, Pete. Me too. Thanks for stopping by.

[tarag]

To those who write poetry it is water. You can try to exchange it with tea, coffee, soda, but you always come back to the water. The description of poetry as a survival tool rings so true: a tool, a compass, a gentle hand, a whispered nudge. I've been there. Very, very nice depiction of the soul of a poet.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you. Much appreciated.

[John the Baptist]

"A blank page was never an option." Well, doesn't that say it for all of us who continue writing? The specifics may be different, but the fact is we just don't feel comfortable not writing.

[Thomas W Case]

That's it for sure.

[red93]

This is Great Thomas, and it is still the case, as the Poet Rilke said - I paraphrase - 'unless you have a deep need to write, don't bother'. Exceptional ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend. I appreciate you.

[Michael Sun Bear]

I smiled at the first stanza, the opening words shouting to me Oh boy, more Thomas Case, I know I’m going to enjoy this, and I did, the whole damn thing. I particularly like: “pain had a smell lonely, bitter, like stale beer, familiar before it made sense.” You inspire me, my friend. I hope you inspire others.

[Thomas W Case]

I appreciate you, my friend. Thanks, and stay on the sobriety. It's worth it.

[Michael Sun Bear]

As someone else recently said, WC helped her maintain sobriety, and it does me too. There’s a real sense of community here.

[Thomas W Case]

Yes there is.