Choices

If i can’t do

what i want to do

then my job is to not

do what i don’t want

to do
It’s not the same thing

but it’s the best i can

do
If i can’t have

what i want . . . then

my job is to want

what i’ve got

and be satisfied

that at least there

is something more to want
Since i can’t go

where i need

to go . . . then i must . . . go

where the signs point

through always understanding

parallel movement

isn’t lateral
When i can’t express

what i really feel

i practice feeling

what i can express

and none of it is equal
I know

but that’s why mankind

alone among the animals

learns to cry

 

 Nikki Giovanni

 

(photo: Indian Ocean, St. Lucia, South Africa, Nov. 2007)