Give
me! I want! I need!
As
a preverbal infant, I cried.
(This
is all about me.)
Give
me! I want! I need!
And
as I grew into my vocabulary,
I
learned to say, please.
Give
me! I want! I need!
The
more I learn, the more see,
the
more I want, the more I need.
Give
me! I want! I need!
Just
one will not do. What if it breaks
or
gets lost? I must have two.
Give
me! I want! I need!
I
smile, I plead, I bargain and I take.
I
manipulate in order to get my way.
Give
me! I want! I need!
As
an adult, I question, I doubt, I pray.
I
shun criticism and accept praise.
Ah,
but today I say, the hell with, Give me!
I
want! I need! as the scales of youthful wishes
and
dreams have tipped unevenly the other way.
Instead,
longevity in its wisdom has given me
not
what I want or need, but rather the worldly
reality
of white whiskers, arthritic pain, and
one
more (or fewer) days of unsteady old age.
Considering
all my lifetime gains and losses, I
didn’t
really need all that much in the first place.
Chris
Hanch 1-1-18
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