Self-actualization

from early youth
tried to figure out
who I was and
where I fit in life’s
scheme

don’t think Dad
really wanted kids
Mom did, but apparently
not very proud of
her brood

fairness an issue to
me from an early age
glasses inflicted at three
and a frail form well
into puberty

while peers primped
and preened I pondered
heritage, destiny
and self-improvement, yes
I did some primping, too

Charles Atlas course to
sculpt the body and eastern
philosophy to sculpt my
mental and ethical
propensities

plunging hands and fits
into sand, breaking boards
in high school speech class
demos of breakfalls on
tiled classroom floors

instead of acceptance
or admiration like the
school jocks, generated
distance and fear
from my peers

after many years, acceptance
of peers no longer appeals
acceptance of my strengths
and slights, plus the arc of
history hone my insights

for better or worse in the
hypothetical metaverse

–LE