I’ve Been Looking for Meaning in the Most Ordinary Things 

I’m a poet performing poems for relevance.
I’ve been looking for meaning
in things perceived as meaningless.
I thought myself a failure,
yet I haven’t actually failed.
I explore the rainforests of
South America in my dreams.
Yet, I still wonder why my spirit animals are a tiger,
lemur, and a capybara.
I’ve studied poetry, music, and philosophy.
I linger in the feeling of inadequacy and
impostor syndrome can be found in the sweet and low
of my morning coffee.
I’ve likened myself
to a boxer who won’t go down in the ring.
I’ve been an a**hole, grateful & poetry in motion.
I’ve been listening to music for inspiration.
I’ve been a shooting star and a comet.
I’ve been sipping on IPAs and persistence.
I’ve been resilient.
I’m currently in the opening credits song
of the movie of life.
And waiting for the saxophone solo
to begin.

Walker (Walpoet) Valdez is a Bolivian American spoken word poet, educator, and teaching artist from Falls Church, VA. He is a storyteller who blends humor and wordplay to speak on the Latin American experience. He has performed throughout the DMV area, has been featured in podcasts, and has been published in Mayari Literature and the Mid-Atlantic Review.

From the I, Too, Am America Project, selected for publication in the Amplify US Literary Journal