Myself Poem by Michael Roysdon

I can pretend
to have the eloquence of a business man.
I can pretend
to be in poverty as a man without a home.
I can pretend
to accept the predestined truths we face.
I can pretend
to be a pious man and praise 'God.'
I can pretend
to be the ultimate hero in a child's fantasies.
However, one thing I cannot pretend
is to have a life beyond my own.
I cannot pretend
to be beyond myself, and assume beyond myself.
I cannot pretend
to ignore the tragedies that write their scripts in my life.
I cannot pretend
to be above another man, because I know that I am not.