Not Obligated To Offer Options Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Not Obligated To Offer Options



She knew and understood,
The man I would today become.
And even though I rebelled,
With a doing done when I was young...
She taught me early,
How to play baseball, clean a house...
AND do chores.
Be it to take out the garbage,
Wash and hang clothes outside to dry.
Or to sweep and mop floors.
No matter if the other kids,
Would laugh at me as I cried.
('Why 'me'...God? WHY? ')

I jumped rope with the girls,
And played sports with the boys.
Even though these 'eclectic' activities,
Made my father 'extremely' annoyed.
Sometimes at me he would roll his eyes.
('Look, dude. I aint got nuthin to do with this.
I've been told to follow orders.
And apparently none of them are yours.')

My mama knew and understood,
The man I would today become.
With a closing my mouth,
To not let one excuse come out.
And to be accountable for my every move.
But I must admit,
Being exposed to many experiences...
My mother could have been even more strict.
('Pour it on. You think I can't take it? ')

You see...
My mama believed,
If I embarrassed myself publicly enough,
I would be less inquisitive.
She was wrong.
I interpreted being humiliated...
Was something I associated with strength.
And it has.
In a positive dysfunctional way.
My father had been a boxer who sang.
My mother had been a classical pianist,
Obsessed with baseball.
And highly involved in church to quote scriptures.

In fact...
I am so strong and independent.
Anyone I wish to keep a relationship with,
Leave me to feel I am too competitive.
And I'm not competitive at all.
I just know what I can do to get it done.
To know that the next challenge that comes,
I'm going to face it with attempts to erase it.
And if someone doesn't understand,
That's the kind of man I am...well,
I'm not obligated to offer options.
I never got them to comprehend what they meant.
Or sent to me as it was demanded,
I go to a bush to select from it...
A 'switch' that best delivers a good hit.

Saturday, January 31, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: life
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Suburban Lovechild 31 January 2015

Nice write, very insightful, and an ode to taking full pride, accomplishment and ownership of who you are, and no apologies. Keep it up, and please check out my poems too, I'd appreciate it.

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