David Crandall Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

7/7/2026 for Inward Journey Poetry Contest sponsored by Nayda Ivette Negron Flores

Reluctant Journey

I wonder,
does one's perception of the outside world
reflect what's inside?
is the outward strife in my life a result of my inner state?
I've had two failed marriages and countless relationships
now, I don't engage and avoid people problems:
     here is the church.  here is the steeple
     hell on earth is other people
so, I keep the outside world at a safe distance
I stay alone by choice
I can't seem to escape the news, though
could my life be fuller if I engaged more?
maybe, I should look inside, and fix myself
a friend voice echoes, "you have to do the work"
I avoid what's inside me even more carefully than I avoid what's outside
     I eschew the inner and outer realms all the time
     to live in a fantasy dollhouse of rhyme  
I never liked jumping off the high dive or into the deep end
or the cold water, but here goes...
the inner journey begins...
as a trap door opens below me
and I fall through the dark, and land - thud
I'm lost
unlike Alice, I have to pills to make me large or small
but, this, supposedly is me 
and yet it seems to be a strange, ominous foreign land
several paths lead away
but none seem like they've been traveled in decades
I take the road of childhood
it's a lonely road,
leading to cubby holes of joy
amidst a backdrop of sadness, rejection, fear, anger
I spent time here decades ago
with a marriage counselor
I know - my mother
I'm grown up now, an old man actually - too old for this
I'm hightailing out of here
so, I take another path
the road of love and desires
like Scrooge's past, present, and future ghosts
this is no pretty picture
what the world needs now is love
all you need is love
but, first, what is love?
when I was young, I was selfish
and I didn't choose lovers like I chose friends
what do I want now?  what can I give now?
I'm too old for this
this place is scary, I'm outta here
what's this?  
the road of core values and ideals,
and, like the lone ranger, 
I'm led to a gaping chasm
between what I wish to be
and what I am
I'm so disappointed in myself
and I'm hard on myself -
but not as hard as I am on others
I'm just human
is that a compliment
or the worst imaginable insult?
I don't want to think about it
later, friend
      I'm returning to the land of rhyme,
      where chipmunks can talk any ol' time
      and the next journey I'm going on
      is to the beautiful great beyond
      riding on the wings of a snow white swan

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Pascal Borg September 15, 2026 at 10:06 AM This is not the David I have imagined him to be. Tell me it is all fiction, tell me it is all poetry craftily and cunningly worded for the sole purpose of winning in this competition. Congratulations David, you have succeeded! (You will not believe this: the characters I had to type in to allow this comment to be transmitted were DLS, an acronym for "David's Life Story" I presume.) David Crandall September 15, 2026 at 7:32 PM Haha, that makes sense! Sorry, there's more truth in this than I like to admit, but then again, I think we are all many faceted, right?

Alison A Smith July 8, 2026 at 12:57 AM Don't leave before we meet cause loneliness I can tell you is no fun. Living away from the world eventually more than chipmunks will talk. I have booked my Swan I can send you a code it gives you a good deal on snow white swans. David Crandall July 8, 2026 at 4:40 PM Haha, thanks Alison! How about we take a flying squirrel with talking swans instead?