What Can I Do
I never flew
with a flock of birds,
I cannot fly like a bird;
Never did I fly.
I never smelled sweet
like the flowering bough,
I cannot smell like the flower;
Never did I smell sweet.
I never loved
a woman whom
I did not chance to meet,
I cannot love the woman;
Never did I love.
I never sang
the song I did not
chance to write,
I cannot sing the song;
Never did I sing.
I never saw
into the heart of hearts,
I cannot see the heart;
Never did I see.
I never knew
the Unknown whom
I did not chance to know,
I cannot know the Unknown;
Never did I know.
What then can I do?
Only that which I cannot do!
But then really...
Will I ever come to fly,
Or love a woman whom
I did not chance to meet,
And give voice to a song
I never shall compose,
Or have a true
heart-to-heart communion
when I cannot sneak a peek into the heart?
And truly,
Will I ever come to revere
Someone I never shall know?
~"The Poet's Ache" contest by Greg Barden.
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