David Welch | + Follow Poet |
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You'Re Not Perfect the Way You Are, Part I

I saw children playing soccer,
running around this way and that,
that in itself was no issue,
it was the parents who were bad.
They insisted there was 'no score,'
and that nobody there would ‘win,’
that all of this was just 'for fun,'
and other sorts of nonsense spin.
But the kids certainly kept score,
talked about it amongst themselves,
you could even see some upset
when they thought they weren’t playing well.
Why structure a competition
if there’s no stakes tied to the game?
You can exercise by yourself,
kids run around most of the day.
The point of cooperative games
is to prepare them for what comes,
to work with others and try hard,
and to succeed when all is done.
Sport wasn’t made for their feelings,
there is a point when they all spar,
don’t cheer on mediocrity,
they’re not perfect the way they are.

I saw an artist’s grand display
at a gallery some time back,
and of the crowd only I said
that talent the man sorely lacked.
A painted red circle, simple,
three blocks that he stacked off-centered,
four salt shakers painted orange,
a squished bug placed on a quarter,
though that last one might now have been
part of the display he had made,
yet still people moseyed throughout
and called it ‘powerful’ and ‘brave.’
I laughed and said, ‘You waste my time,
there is nothing artistic here.
go back and look at old masters,
at least they had skill in their weird.’
Some claimed I was a ‘phillistine,’
just ‘too simple to understand,’
that art did not need beauty, no,
but I dismissed them out of hand.
to attract a man’s attention,
to put a claim upon his time,
Ii has to be something profound,
that rewards delights the mind.
But to excuse such laziness,
to call ‘art’ such sheer ugliness…
does no favors to him or me,
and makes lazy all our artists.
There’s no greatness without hard work,
skill is needed to make a star,
don’t enable our worst aspects,
we’re not perfect the way we are.

I saw a woman, quite obese,
making videos on the net,
declaring, ‘Big is beautiful!’
(Though I’ve not seen such a one yet.)
She proclaimed that she was quite proud
at her quite immense body-weight,
that no one should ever feel shame,
and that everything was just great.
I supposed I could keep quiet
if it just effected herself,
but how does one ignore that she
wants to snare others in that hell?
When in truth it is not okay,
and she probably will die young,
Trying to doom others to that?
Tell me what part of that is fun?...

CONCLUDES IN PART II.

Copyright © David Welch | Year Posted 2022

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