Inexactly What This Means To Me

When I write poetry,
I am not trying to be a poet.
This is not for publication;
this is not for art;
this is not for everyone to read.
When I write poetry,
I do it because I need somewhere where I am right.
You cannot criticize me here;
you cannot outsmart me here;
you cannot change me here.
I frankly don't care if I sound self-absorbed,
inconsiderate,
sexist,
or foolish in poetry.
It's okay for me to be these things;
it's okay for me to be none of these things;
it's okay for me to be whatever I know I am and nothing you try to see me as.
I frankly don't care that you might disagree with my expression of my feelings.
I was stripped of my voice;
I was stripped of my journal;
I will never be stripped of my poetry.