The Real Me
There are two people;
Who are the real me;
One you know well;
You love her poems;
And her suspenseful stories;
She can be kind;
And thrives on positive comments;
She loves and supports friends;
As much as she is capable;
But there is another;
A person who is just as real;
One whom you don't know;
The one who stays detached;
She knows how to love;
But only from a distance;
She knows pain;
Both real and imagined;
She knows how to suffer;
But she doesn't know how not to;
She knows how to weep;
The sun shines coldly on her;
She knows how to lose;
But she doesn't know how to win;
She can remember grief;
But happiness eludes her;
She prefers to play it safe;
She has been hurt enough;
She destroys herself slowly;
Because she disappoints always;
She locks herself away;
Lest her poison should spread;
In her solitary prison she writes;
Taking up too much space;
In a world so very large;
She destroys her own successes;
In her self-destructive way;
Yes, my friends, I am the poet;
That you all know and love;
My shadow side is lurking;
She is here with me;
And she is just as real.
Who are the real me;
One you know well;
You love her poems;
And her suspenseful stories;
She can be kind;
And thrives on positive comments;
She loves and supports friends;
As much as she is capable;
But there is another;
A person who is just as real;
One whom you don't know;
The one who stays detached;
She knows how to love;
But only from a distance;
She knows pain;
Both real and imagined;
She knows how to suffer;
But she doesn't know how not to;
She knows how to weep;
The sun shines coldly on her;
She knows how to lose;
But she doesn't know how to win;
She can remember grief;
But happiness eludes her;
She prefers to play it safe;
She has been hurt enough;
She destroys herself slowly;
Because she disappoints always;
She locks herself away;
Lest her poison should spread;
In her solitary prison she writes;
Taking up too much space;
In a world so very large;
She destroys her own successes;
In her self-destructive way;
Yes, my friends, I am the poet;
That you all know and love;
My shadow side is lurking;
She is here with me;
And she is just as real.
Published by Lisa R. Strong
I was born and raised in Binghamton NY. I have been writing short stories since I was eight years old, and poetry since I was a teenager. I also write prayers, meditations, and opinion articles. My dre... View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentOne cannot exist without the other. To know our light side, we must witness our dark. To know happiness, we must have experienced sadness. Your poem illustrates, with vivid imagery, this concept of the duality of man (and women). Well done.
Very nice, Lisa. I loved this one.... Great job!
You seem like a wonderful person and your poetry speaks for itself. Great job
Uh... What Mike S said (I couldn't have said it better). Here's to those of us who have the guts to admit our flaws and own up to our dark sides! Here's another thought: It takes an artist to see the world in a way that makes him/her laugh AND cry! God bless!!
This is beautiful !!...everyone has good and bad qualities...Excellent !!!!
ups, sorry! I mean "..as a poet and a human being."
I also believe that we all have two sides like 2 faces of a coin. I still admire you as a poem and a person. Great poem Lisa. :-)
I agree with you 100% Karen...My stepdad was like that...he would be well-loved at work..but at home he was a drunken lunatic!! That is the extreme of what Im talking about...Our lives would've been much easier if he could've channeled his anger into something wonderful..but It is important for me to be a nice person...to treat others as I would want to be treated. I want people to like me, it makes me feel good about myself when much of the time I am feeling quite the opposite. Just because I have a shadow side doesn't mean I am a horrible person, I am just a person who has wrestled with alot of demons...and I admit it.
Ran out of room: Sometimes, not downplaying the complications of tragedies and depressions, but sometimes knowing the source of the feeling of dichotomy can help us to harness the opposing forces and make the most of them. For instance, that fella who is nurturing in Public but a hothead at home can harness all that metal and fire and use it for productive creative work (sling paint) instead of yelling at his wife and kids.
Structurally, you may have hit perfection with poem. In personality Feng Shui, it is taught that everyone has a Public Self and a Private Self described in terms of the five elements: water, fire, etc.. For most people, the Public and Private selves are different. For example, Mr. X may be metal, earth and water in Public and metal and fire in Private. That translates into a confidently competent but accommodating and nurturing person in public relationships but an unyielding hothead in private relationships. This dichotomy of Public and Private elements is one reason why most people feel like they have two selves. But some people have Public and Private Feng Shui elements that are virtually identical. For example, water, earth in Public and water, earth and metal in private. These people with virtually identical elements don 't feel the dichotomy because there isn't one: what you see is what you get. Sometimes, barring complications of tragedies and depressions, sometimes knowing th