“When I was your age
I had to live a certain way,
do certain things,
behave a certain way.”
“When I was your age,
I was already there,
doing certain things,
Following a certain way,
Struggling and trying,
This way or that way.”
Now, I am my age,
I try differently,
No interest in history.
Context is good-to-know,
Helps acceptance grow.
Knowledge of ways is good-for-info,
Great intellectual limbo.
But I won’t live your way,
Your certain way
Glorifying struggle,
Glorifying fixed circumstances,
What character building?
The character of living poorly.
Being taught that
Within limits is the only
way to live.
That certain ways are the only ways
to offset inevitable pain and regret.
Cover with blankets to shield.
Create illusions of steel.
Sweating and sweltering inside,
Being protected from storms outside?
From the outside, every life looks the same.
Each pain looks the same.
It’s funny that pain is the same
even when seen from inside.
The difference is only seen
In how one lives within,
how each day is felt
when seen from inside.
You cannot live my way,
I cannot live yours,
It’s customized after all.
No way is fixed,
no way is right,
My way is winning for me, that’s all.
Ruminations 