Grex Poetry Conference

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Grex Poetry Item 141: A Question of Self-Worth
Entered by ponder on Fri Nov 5 03:21:49 UTC 1999:

What's the matter with me?
Aren't I good enough?
Smart enough?
Strong enough?
Kind enough?
Whatever enough
To be friend material?
People like me, that's the truth.
The world stays by me because I go to it
Because I listen when it needs to talk
Because I treat it as I want to be treated.
So then what's wrong with me?
When I need a friend, where is the world?
When I have a problem
When I need someone to hear me
Where is the world?
Do I always have to do the work?
Am I the only one who cares?

Selfish, I know.
Common sense says I should be content--
I should try to derive pleasure in being friendly--
I should continue to be patient.
Why?
I just want what everyone else wants.

Understanding.

                        -4 November, 1999

3 responses total.

#1 of 3 by lumen on Fri Nov 5 23:20:33 1999:

I'm not sure how to critique this-- I may wind up in the doghouse if I 
say too much.

I think this is another poem written for therapy, and such poems, IMHO, 
need to be considered as they are-- for the feeling and emotion of the 
moment is usually expressed pretty raw and pure, and doesn't suffer a 
lot of artistic embellishment.  (Thus I maintain: the quality of art 
depends on the view of the receiver.)

If it was written for more competitive purposes, I would rework some of 
the cliches-- I've heard the phrase "strong enough/smart enough" 
somewhere before.

#2 of 3 by dea on Wed Nov 10 00:44:03 1999:

call me messedup but i have felt the same way often:P

#3 of 3 by ponder on Fri Nov 19 18:32:14 1999:

I think everybody has.

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