"Acceptance Speech" by David Yezzi

Acceptance Speech

Accept the things you cannot change:

the bleating clock,

the nightly go

—dog leash in tow—

around the block,

neural chemistry,

patchy hair,

a longing stare

and X-ray eye,

and the niggling fact

that things will stay

roughly this way,

to be exact.

Forgive the things you cannot have:

the supple bod,

taut undergrads,

a nicer pad,

long chats with God,

an older name,

your peers’ respect,

the oll korrect,

unbridled fame,

a sense of ease

in your own skin,

a lighter burden

by degrees.

The life you’d swap for on the train

(sight unseen)

is much like yours

though it appears

more green.

So, why this pain

that shorts the breath

and spoils your health?

You grow serene—

not yet, but after

your will resigns

a few more times

with heavy laughter.

If...

If...

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a man my son!

~ Rudyard Kipling

Heartbreak Avenue

Inspired by an email conversation...

Heartbreak Avenue

Welcome to the avenue
I've been here for some time
I know my way around here
Please let me guess the crime

Your heart was taken from you
Your breath was stolen too
Your tears have fallen many times
Your relationship is through

This road that we're upon now
is for souls like you and me
We want to move on past it
but cannot seem to flee

Our minds they don't stop thinking
of what we could have been
if we had stayed together
or could begin again

Over there is Jonathan
He did what he was told
but it didn't matter, no
he's still out in the cold

There is Jim who tried so hard
to keep his home intact
but no matter what he did
his wife still cried and packed

As you walk the avenue
look across the street
Sometimes you'll see the one who left
who made your life complete

You see... This street... It goes both ways
it hurts both you and they
it doesn't matter who's at fault
this price we all must pay

We all walk on this avenue
our hearts in need of mending
until we find another soul
the pain is never ending

- Sean

Lonely vs. Alone

Lonely vs. Alone

Lonely and Alone

Contain few syllables each

But the words have different meanings

Both have lessons to teach

Lonely brings me thought noise

Alone brings mental peace

Lonely brings me isolation

Alone brings me release

Lonely feels involuntary

Alone feels like a choice

Lonely feels embarrassing

Alone makes me rejoice

Lonely can happen in a crowd

Alone is only me

Lonely causes tears of pain

Alone makes tears of glee

The line between the two

seems like it should be clear

but I alternate between them

many times throughout the year

In this epic battle of words

Only time will tell the tale

Lonely has the lead now

But Alone is on the trail

- Sean

Does It Ever Get Easier?

Does It Ever Get Easier

Does it ever get easier

to see it in my mind

images of you and I

and what's been left behind?

Does it ever get easier

to think about our past?

To know that things are over

to know the die is cast?

Does it ever get easier

to know you're safe from harm

because you're safely tucked away

in someone else's arms?

Does it ever get easier

to let this memory go?

To rest my thoughts on knowing

that it's best I do not know?

Does it ever get easier

to fight my urge to call

to know that if I do

my will will surely fall?

Does it ever get easier

not to hear your voice

not to feel you next to me

because you've made your choice?

Does it ever get easier

to say goodbye my friend

to know for sure that this time

is honestly the end?

- Sean