The instructor said:
write a truthful poem about yourself,
beginning where Hughes begins.

The only problem is:
If I don't find my life interesting enough to write about,
Who will?

I am fifteen, white, Rochester born and raised.
I was a toddler when I made my first joke
A shrewd feat of irony
The mere act of wiping crumbs
off my parents faces,
each of us laughing exuberantly,
And yet it was so much more.
For over the next decade it,
the act of telling jokes,
became my life style.

Comedy has aided my quest for friendship,
distracted me from overbearing problems,
and even altered my view on many aspects of reality.

This did have it's drawbacks though
mainly conflict with teachers
and members of authority.
I couldn't tell you
how many times I've faced strict punishment,
not for getting into fights,
but simply for joking around.
Not to mention the distaste
that arises among peers
as a result of some of my jesting actions
or the distractions the ubiquitous
world of satire places before me.

And even as I'm writing this
I am unable to resist
the occasional laugh or
amusing thought that materialize
to save me from my boredom.