Day 7 of my 100 Days of Poetry series is about intentional creation, refusing extraction, and building space for voices that are too often talked over, repackaged, or erased. This poem speaks to the act of creating with purpose, not as spectacle, not as trauma currency, but as documentation, resistance, and invitation. It is about community built with care, not permission, and about forward motion that actually follows through.
Creating Curated Change
I don’t write of
trauma
pain
life’s unseen stains
to pass an emotional buck
Not one to complain
Unseen pain outside of me
I do not
have not
will not
seek unsolicited help to
shoulder a burden that
no one can claim to own
outside of me
I weave words willfully
immortalized receipts
capturing points of view
perpetually prevented from
participating in literary and artistic
mind meetings
Expect me to be
never
asking permission
from a single soul
and
stopping for the same
Current and future people like me
need opportunity to see
other people’s perspectives
that actually relate
consciously communicate
No more stolen
minority
makers
manifestations
through creation
Curated creative community
No more requirements of
status
education
plausible politeness past
wreck the walls that gatekeep creation
Forward action, curating change,
no more complaining with zero follow-through
Creative creatures collect, creating change
Poet’s note
This poem was written as a refusal. A refusal to create for consumption alone, to package pain for approval, or to dilute language for comfort. The “curation” here is not exclusion, it is intention. It is about protecting creative spaces from extraction while still opening doors for those who have been historically shut out.
The idea of “immortalized receipts” speaks to indie publishing minority works both mine and community, to proof of lived experience, and to the power of language as record. This piece centers community that creates with accountability, forward action, and care, rather than performance or proximity to status.
“Creating Curated Change” is a declaration of practice, not theory. It challenges the idea that creativity must be polite, credentialed, or palatable to matter. Instead, it argues for community built through conscious communication, lived perspective, and actual follow-through.
This poem invites readers to consider not just what they create, but how, why, and who is allowed to participate. Change does not come from endless critique alone. It comes from collective making, from tearing down the gates, and from building something better in their place.
Speaking of community and creations don’t forget you can submit work to our first quarterly by emailing poeaxtry@gmail.com or submitting a form.
Deadline is 2/12/2926
Find out more about submitting here
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