Do not repeat your self

In service to the technocracy
ergonomically deposited into a climate-controlled canister
and surrounded by vacuous guidebooks and manuals sans meaning
I sat reading the latest obligatory missive that said,
“Do not repeat your self”

And I felt great relief

Because they must understand
indeed, understand that for each of us there will never be another—
that for all we fear, none will act in combat with our essence.

Let me repeat myself.
In the onrush of my life, my existence is never perjury
neither in the wranglings of my relationships,
nor in the negotiation of my community

There is no alternative instance of my self living inauthentically
spewing bad grammar and vapid admonishments

And for this essential blessing
I pause for thanks
Trusting that I will rise intact each day

 

This poem was published in the Spring 2020 issue of WestWard Quarterly.

Andy Oram
March 7, 2020

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