Inspired by American writer and poet and podcaster extraordinaire, Saeed Jones.
I wrote this poem.
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My Project 2025
after those who've spoke up before me.
I refuse to be anything less than who I know I am.
I am using this voice to limit as much Finding Out
that comes when half the country Fucks Around.
I am asking better questions.
Like, “Who benefits from this?”
and “What would liberation for all feel like here?”
and “Why are you still whispering?”
I have spent years biting my tongue,
but I am done bleeding in my own mouth.
I will not obey in advance.
I will not go quietly into the night.
I wield my political and social capital
to speak for, but never over, voices without the same.
To pass the mic and never hoard it,
to amplify those left unheard.
I get in the mud of uncomfortable conversations,
meeting conflict with love, heart, and leadership.
I am diving deep with my children,
helping them uncover who they truly are-
not layering my baggage onto their shoulders.
I am teaching my sons the power they carry by merely existing,
how to speak up and stand out when it’s hard,
what strength rooted in love looks like.
I am giving my daughter, my niece, my granddaughter
the keys to every room I was locked out of,
teaching them to carry their own fire and hammer down
the doors I didn’t reach.
I am wandering in the woods.
I am gazing at the stars.
I am sitting in the quiet of my own glow.
I am having a helluva lot more sexy time.
I am laughing until I cry with friends
who carry my burdens, my soul, my light alongside their own.
More boundaries, fewer rules.
More kindness, less niceness.
More community, less individualism.
I’m Emmy Meli in the entirety of “I Am Woman.”
I have got it going on.
Money flows from good to good, like water, into and through me-
nourishing what I need to thrive and sending the rest out to grow good in the world.
I am hanging up on People Pleasing.
I am evicting Imposter Syndrome and throwing its luggage on the curb.
I am wholly in love with my body,
this teacher of what Unconditional Love truly means.
I am joy in red glasses,
confidence in long silver strands,
the wind that scatters the house of cards where “should” lives.
I am seeking liberation over fear.
I am building my home with words and action,
brick by brick, with trust and truth.
I am here to create,
to love fiercely,
to live boldly.
I am full of surprises.
Tell me: is there a part that resonates, that inspires your version of a Project 2025 poem?
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Note: You can find Saeed's original on his Substack right here: Saeed's My Project 2025