WHITE OUT

Wren AdlerJanuary 26, 2015Mr. TEnglish, Section ATo Be. Or Not. Crazy.Then I’d want to write me all down now, in a Truth Journal,before I no longer knew the truth.I’d want to stack my everythingout in the open,English, Section ATo Be. Or Not. Crazy.Then I’d want to write me all down now,in a Truth Journal,before I no longer knew the truth.I’d want to stack my everythingout in the open,before I eventually separated and scattered.I’d want to swirl up into the sky to your cloud, Daddy,before I blew across oceans to my last White Out,or before any smudged thoughts or ripped feelingsended up on top of a trash heap.To Be. Or Not. Crazy.Then I’d want a powerful back windto plaster my soul against a wall—face up!_________That was the assignment:Write a “To Be” Poemusing the verb <to be> no more than twice.Mr. T circled “White Out” and put a question mark next to it.He underlined the ending and put a check alongside.That wasn’t my real ending, though.To Be. Or Not. Crazy.Then I’d want a powerful back windto plaster my soul against a wall—face up!Why?Because I don’t trust you, Mom.You’re not Anne Frank’s father.You’d totally rewrite my diary.——————Wonder if Mr. T would have underlined those last three linesand put a check alongside them.Doesn’t matter, too personal.And besides, they contained a 3rd <to be>.Truth?After my last White Out,to be or not to be crazy doesn’t matter.To write me all down now,while I’m still here, does.