A Man
“...a man is not meant to be happy,
and those who pursue personal happiness
will be punished...” Ivan Sergeivich Turgenev
You are to be. I have been;
and I know that heart-murmering
gutsink sick feeling
of having made
more than one
irredeemable mistake.
You do not know what you will be;
and you are now but one more fool
adopting romantic poses and owning
the fake assuredness
of many an opinion.
You are to be. We have been;
and we know how we have failed;
and we cling together, offering comfort
in this the wreckage of our lives.
We have been crippled inside;
and we have no certainty of wrong
nor right, especially right; although
we do still make easy judgments,
only to as quickly qualify each.
You do not know what you will be.
Yet, with the slow uncurling of leaf
after leaf, understandings will come to you.
I too once wanted to be a man
who delivered absolutes.
Page(s) 27
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