The canceled writer

She was going through a patch that was rough

When being alone with her feelings was tough

She stumbled upon writing, by serendipity

Because that was the only outlet she could see

To help her process the maelstrom of emotions

Who knew it would set forth into motion

Something much greater than she had not

Imagined in her most outrageous thoughts..

*

Writing from a third person perspective

She began to add fiction to her narrative

Eventually her writing could barely be traced

To her life, it was then that she embraced

Social media sites to showcase her art

To the world, it was a rather slow start

Until an emotionally charged piece viral became

And let to a stratospheric ascent of her fame

From a diarist to a published author, her journey

In its fairytale quality became aspirational for many

A whirlwind of book tours, interviews, lectures followed

She was well-loved, her passion for her work clearly showed

*

From a quiet introvert to a public face

Her writing had to alter to keep pace

Her unfiltered emotions could no longer be

Committed to paper unfortunately

On controversial topics she could not appear

To take an extreme stance for the fear

Of fomenting discord, therefore gradually

Her tone got watered down considerably

*

As her writing started towing the middle line

It lost its luster, the intensity that had defined

Her voice diminished, her book sales dwindled as well

Writing was no longer satisfying, she herself could tell

Eventually a review on the internet tore her down

More criticism followed, in a sea of cancellation her voice drowned

She retreated to her journal, her safe haven indeed

To broadcast her writing to the world, she did not need

*

An authentic voice is hard to find

But the prevalent cancel culture is not kind

To authenticity because someone can take offense

With what is said, lead to backlash intense

Cancel cultures drowns authentic voices out

Fresh talent the world is left without..