“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” - Bertrand Russell
This week, Poets United has as its theme “Identity”. Participants write a poem that fits into this suggested theme and the results are shared with other participants of the challenge. Here is my contribution:
Mistaken Identity
This week, Poets United has as its theme “Identity”. Participants write a poem that fits into this suggested theme and the results are shared with other participants of the challenge. Here is my contribution:
Mistaken Identity
You think you know me,
Because you buy me the cologne I favour,
Currently…
You believe you can guess my thoughts,
Because I smiled when you said you read my mind,
Yesterday…
You assume you understand me,
When you ordered lunch for me, without asking me what I wanted,
Last week…
You’re convinced you read me like an open book,
When you had the room painted with what was my favourite colour,
Last year…
You trust my feelings for you,
Expecting me to carry on loving you, undeservedly,
Forever…
Well think again – don’t dare to believe;
Assumptions are unjustified;
Your convictions are hollow:
You have mistaken my identity,
I am not who you have the effrontery to imagine I am.
Love feeds on love and a reciprocation of feeling,
Not on Pavlovian bells, nor on concessionary gifts.
Love grows when tended tenderly, like a delicate flower,
Not swamped with deluges, nor burned with Summer sunshine.
If you want to know who I really am, ask me, and I shall tell you.
Whistles!!! This is so powerful and true. We are often taken for granted by people who assume that they know who we truly are. Well penned Nick :D
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Sanaa
I love the quote - i love the parting question and spirit contained within each line..to be vulgar - assuming makes an ass out of u and me .. (as they say).. to be serious we change all the time and therefore to know us is to move with us too...
ReplyDeletehow true...hollow'men' are easily caught...
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent, Nick. Sometimes I do think that we think we know people we see frequently (and even the closest people in our lives) & we act as IF........ But sometimes we do need to take a step back & ask again and listen again! When it comes time to dealing with others in our life, we can't afford those false assumptions. Others change, and so do we!
ReplyDeleteWow! I really like the shift in tone between the first part and the second. Excellent!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! Way to hit the ball right of the park! A fantastic write....especially those zinger closing lines.
ReplyDeleteOuch! But it sounds deserved!!
ReplyDeleteWhew! Laid out with a clarity that can not be second guessed. This has a cadence to it that would make a good song, and it's once again time to call out those who "naturally" assume dominance in a what they believe is a good way to "do" (rather than have) relationships.
ReplyDeletePOW !...Poetry is a great carthatic release..pent up feelings are best out.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point Susan makes about relationships.If you see love as a delicate flower that needs to be nurtured,it probably is a good idea to give deluge swampers and earth scorchers a miss.
Meanwhile, you have a rare treasure trove of inner wealth to enjoy...just nibble on scorched almonds and enjoy the rest of summer with JSB Concerto grossi opus 6 no.9 movt 4 (Trevor Pinnock recording)
and give thanks Nick that you are one of the few blessed who can embrace this magnificence.Thus spake Rallentanda ( mad earth scorcher from across the border)Guffaws!
Oops sorry Handel !
ReplyDeleteI am in a similar situation right now and I totally get you. I understand. I know.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't people take the risk of asking, of getting to know? Perhaps, they fear asking because they fear telling.
Assumptions kill a relation.
Well-penned.
-HA
Well stated, and written Nicholas. Indeed, love is an on-going process of discovery and real communication is what keeps. It alive.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that some people have the gall to say they "know us." A study of a person takes time (add enjoyment and candle light and over time they will know a shadow of "us".)
ReplyDelete