Once I saw graffiti as vibrant/playful/authentic/raw/revolutionary/proletarian;

Trendy art theory’s rebellious flag.

An aspiring urban retro-funk barbarian,

(back before Hip-hop turned thug and embraced criminality)

I had my tag!

But I came to see, in time,

Ego-driven urban artistic undertakings as, simply… crime.

Defacing public and/or private property,

Whether wall, bridge, truck or train,

with cheesy ghetto graphic style coopted from aerosol-addled youth

(The spraypaint’s often shoplifted, sad truth— )

Is an ugly visual refrain.

Mark these words; tag this allegory:

Dogs also spray to mark out their territory…

Demonic smurfs, cartoon calligraphy, at best plebeian esthetic pleasures,

Cry out for Singaporean measures

Where the caning

beats explaining.

“Word up“

PROMPT #9

try writing a poem of your own that uses rhyme,
but without adhering to specific line lengths.