By Joseph Hesch
I stopped trying to be who
the world always wanted me to be—
pliant, compliant, the good boy,
and the better man.
With age I see why
I’ve hated the effort I made
to color within everyone else’s lines.
Inside, I’m trying to be
cold and dark and
-- just to be me --
I keep all those beans
we’re supposed to count
in alphabetic order.
This is my life, my obsession,
and I’ll keep it the way that I want.
That’s who I am, for better or worse.
No partners, no bliss, self-service.
Deal with it.
Oh, excuse me, did you drop this?
ha, thanks for the chuckle at the end...i dont like coloring in everyone elses lines either...you have to be comfortable with yourself...or it is not living...
ReplyDeleteI've learned to never say never. I've eaten my words more than once, lol. Great ending! No, no, no, and then...maybe? And, staying in everyone else's lines? That's my whole life being the pk that I am. It's still a struggle, though I'm learning no one zaps me when I wander off to pick flowers from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI really like this poem very much, Joe. Why colour in between someone else's lines, when you can create your own "cold and dark" line. Here is to you staying your wonderful changing self. Q x
ReplyDeleteLove the ending Joe.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta be you, mope-a-dope
Never ever apologize for being yourself.
:)
H
Awesome end and self-service well, there's a double meaning in that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautifully written poem. I was hooked with the very first line. Well done.
ReplyDelete