I Believe
I believe that staying up late
Some nights, when your brain is surprisingly
Alert, pulsating as it overflows
With haphazard solutions
And weird ideas
Is a good thing.
I believe that if you are sad
And lonely, and haven’t yet
Done your homework,
You should call your mother.
I believe that the death
Penalty is wrong, even if we know
Who did it. I don’t care about that
“Eye for an eye,” crap.
I believe in the Constitution.
I love the
Founders’ great promises--
An establishment
Of justice to promote
The general welfare and ensure the
Blessings of liberty.
As for the delivery?
Not so much.
I believe in readily available
Birth control, and honest sex education
In schools. You are never too young
To realize that your body is a gorgeous machine,
The final product of science
And hopefully, love.
I believe in having to walk with your third-grade class
For several blocks in the rain on your way to a
Field trip, because my teacher said,
As my tears blended with the storm,
That it builds character.
I believe that a certain rock guitarist
Named Todd looks particularly attractive
As he sits coolly but kindly
In that one blue-tinted picture,
Clutching a brand-new
Line 6 guitar.
Or in that other one,
Where he has no beard,
And his hair looks like a pineapple.
I believe you should
Make your teachers mad on purpose,
Then cry, whine,
And beg for forgiveness.
I believe that Internet slang
Should become the national language,
So the world could make
Even less sense,
And I could tune it out
Even more than I already do.
I don’t believe that humans
Can blow up the world
Before we burn it up.
The nukes may destroy it
And the gods may sustain it,
But what about the humans
That try to do both at once?
I don’t believe that hating
Guns makes you a sissy,
That fearing them is irrational.
Do you know
What they were designed to do?
I believe that I should
Brush my hair in the shower, and
Before I’ve rinsed off all the conditioner.
I believe I should talk to my roommate every day
And smile at people,
Even those I’ve never met,
Or may never see again.
And who cares how I look
When I do it?
I believe in reading more books.
After all, reading is fun and cool
And makes me feel smart.
I believe in writing,
Even starting to write.
I believe in giving myself those twenty minutes to
Curse, kick, and take names.
By then, I’ll have something halfway decent,
And almost good enough
To turn in.
I believe in never getting undressed
While facing my roommate,
Never cheating on my boyfriend,
Even if he cheats on me.
And at no time during the parade
Will I forget
To wave at the crowd,
To take in the scenery,
To keep an upright posture,
And, most importantly,
To always wear
A seat belt.
Some nights, when your brain is surprisingly
Alert, pulsating as it overflows
With haphazard solutions
And weird ideas
Is a good thing.
I believe that if you are sad
And lonely, and haven’t yet
Done your homework,
You should call your mother.
I believe that the death
Penalty is wrong, even if we know
Who did it. I don’t care about that
“Eye for an eye,” crap.
I believe in the Constitution.
I love the
Founders’ great promises--
An establishment
Of justice to promote
The general welfare and ensure the
Blessings of liberty.
As for the delivery?
Not so much.
I believe in readily available
Birth control, and honest sex education
In schools. You are never too young
To realize that your body is a gorgeous machine,
The final product of science
And hopefully, love.
I believe in having to walk with your third-grade class
For several blocks in the rain on your way to a
Field trip, because my teacher said,
As my tears blended with the storm,
That it builds character.
I believe that a certain rock guitarist
Named Todd looks particularly attractive
As he sits coolly but kindly
In that one blue-tinted picture,
Clutching a brand-new
Line 6 guitar.
Or in that other one,
Where he has no beard,
And his hair looks like a pineapple.
I believe you should
Make your teachers mad on purpose,
Then cry, whine,
And beg for forgiveness.
I believe that Internet slang
Should become the national language,
So the world could make
Even less sense,
And I could tune it out
Even more than I already do.
I don’t believe that humans
Can blow up the world
Before we burn it up.
The nukes may destroy it
And the gods may sustain it,
But what about the humans
That try to do both at once?
I don’t believe that hating
Guns makes you a sissy,
That fearing them is irrational.
Do you know
What they were designed to do?
I believe that I should
Brush my hair in the shower, and
Before I’ve rinsed off all the conditioner.
I believe I should talk to my roommate every day
And smile at people,
Even those I’ve never met,
Or may never see again.
And who cares how I look
When I do it?
I believe in reading more books.
After all, reading is fun and cool
And makes me feel smart.
I believe in writing,
Even starting to write.
I believe in giving myself those twenty minutes to
Curse, kick, and take names.
By then, I’ll have something halfway decent,
And almost good enough
To turn in.
I believe in never getting undressed
While facing my roommate,
Never cheating on my boyfriend,
Even if he cheats on me.
And at no time during the parade
Will I forget
To wave at the crowd,
To take in the scenery,
To keep an upright posture,
And, most importantly,
To always wear
A seat belt.