How few of us
know the answers, to the few questions
we ask, in this life.
It can take a life-time
to get the answer to one important question
like, “Who am I?”
and then, you can never be sure
you didn’t invent the question, or invent the answer.
I met a sad, disappointed, man
with parted hair, a t-shirt tucked in
to polo shorts, held-up, by a shiny belt.
His children do not believe the way he believes
His library is full of his beliefs, confirmed by others, who believe him
they all agree, the other beliefs, are wrong.
I am not at war, but there are those who would say I am in rebellion
If you can ask, anyone, one Original question
you are a threat
whether, in politics, religion, culture, or any domain where the human needs to be right
and is convinced, he is right.
The human is dangerous, because he feels his way, into everything
like a naked man, lost in the dark, looking for the light-switch
after the power goes out.
A man trusts his feelings, in so far, as he has been told it’s okay
I am surprised, by the surprising lack of insight
in the men I know
they are so convinced, they are right
and when they look into a woman, they are terrified, by what they find
tortured by inconsistencies and incongruities
“I love you, for you,” she says.
“What does it mean when my girlfriend says that I don’t need to get a better job?” My friend asks.
“I think it means, she loves you, for you.”
“No. No. It’s controlling behavior,” my friend says. “Now, I have to put her in line and make sure that she follows my lead.”
We look into others, and see ourselves, without knowing it
and we are terrified by what we find
There are many women I thought I loved, in the moment
and I believed I could love them, for a lifetime
but they did not love me
and now they are only a distant memory
and my feelings don’t long for them
the way they felt, a long time ago.
I know this man, 70 pounds overweight
70 years old
and convinced he will die, any day
but he hasn’t, and he has been convinced
since I’ve known him
and he visits the grave of a woman he loved 30 years ago
His crush,
and she didn’t love him back
and he hasn’t gotten better with age
white whiskers clinging to his many chins
but he still feels, for the woman he loved
this world refuses to love itself
people think they love
but it’s something else
If you ever get a chance to look inside yourself
you will probably need God
the answers to the questions we think we know
are not any more foolish
than the faith we possess
the changes in ourselves, allow us, to see the changes in others
and to genuinely see another person
that is the big mystery
If we see others, without seeing them
and they see us, without seeing us
What are we looking at?
Yes…’people think they love, but it’s something else’….If it’s not empowering and freeing…it’s probably not love. I will need to give some thought to those last lines. Intriguing poem. 💙
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Thanks Mairi!!! I’m so glad my poem made you think. 🙂
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I like the inference of that line ‘and she didn’ t love him back’.
Wonderful as always. Have you read D. H Lawrence? I’m reading his ‘The Rainbow’ and their are a lot of parallels with your poem and the self-talk of his characters with their predicaments in relationships.
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Interesting… Observation Blogger! I read DH about 4 months back. I think it was New Eve and Old Adam. It’s a short story about an argument between a man and his wife. Pure genius! I’ll have to check out The Rainbow! Thanks for your thoughtful comment. DH is one of my favorites…
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Likewise I’ll check out the New Eve story. You seem to succinct his prose wonderfully. You are an excellent poet. Keep doing what you do, better than anyone else in current times.
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Thanks Observation Blogger!
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Such a complex and thought provoking piece. I often wonder sometimes if people fall in love first with what they subconsciously see of themself in another. Why so many couples often look alike? I like the ending question though because it’s so often true. To get out of one’s own way to really see another is not always an easy task. Again, nice work!
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I have wondered why long-time married couples end up looking alike! So true! Anyway, thanks for reading and commenting Jennifer! I am so glad that you enjoyed the poem!
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Beautiful meaning ☺️! Well written 😊👌
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Thought provoking poem. You have expressed so beautifully.
It’s true deep down we love ourselves and we search same love, same commitment towards us from others…without realizing same is true for others!
Wanting to “fill in the blanks”, feel complete only if someone we love, loves us back…is a biggest myth.
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Thank you for your beautiful thoughts Nehal! If someone was able to understand us, maybe even better than we understand ourselves, what a beautiful person that would be.
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