"Let's Talk."
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them I ruined my life with elicit substances
that slowed me down and shut me up.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them I believe we're all searching for the same things,
warmth, safety and contentment or whatever love brings.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them we all lie and cheat and steal
but deep down we've all got some good in us.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them I don't really know what’s out there
but I hope it comes to me sooner rather then later.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them I wished my words were worth more
and that we should value each other.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them how unsure I was about everything
and how I've always wanted to escape.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them how I bow before no-one
this boy was raised way too proud for that.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them I was still a boy
and being trapped in a man's body was no fun.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them that I've always longed for another
and I'm terrified I'll never find him.
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them I'm dishonest and deceitful, narcissistic and resentful
but then again isn’t everyone else?
If I could really talk to people,
I'd tell them my deepest, darkest secrets
just to watch them gasp!
If I could really talk to people,
I wouldn't be me.
3 comments:
I love this. I just totally identify with the idea that (I think) you're expressing, that it is so difficult to have a meaningful conversation with someone because everyone is so unique that certain concepts just can't be conveyed. Also, I really respect how you can share a part of who you are in a way that I just don't have the guts to do at this point in my life.
ya.. this is really well expressed. my reading is that it is less about how it isn't possible to convey meaning through communication, but rather that communication is self-limited.
People don't really want to know things about us... they ask "how are you" and want you to say "fine". As a society we deprive ourselves of the deep and meaningful conversation at every turn because we get uncomfortable talking AND hearing about it. If someone comes up to you and says "Let's talk"... it is almost invariably the case that they will want a pacified and simple version of your thoughts. They don't want the raw stuff... the meaningful stuff. It almost seems like talking is barely worth it sometimes when people eat your ear for hours on end about whatever dribble they want to talk about.
BUT.. the part that I am taking away from the poem that is a matter of perspective is that everyone is the same! We don't want to hear other people's dribble.. they don't want to hear ours. "I don't want to know you if you don't want to know me." "I can tell you about things I have thought that would make you shriek in horror.... but I don't want to hear about your thoughts."
The poem isn't at all as straightforward as it reads which is what i'm most impressed with. It reads in an 'aggitated youth' way which we all can identify with. But then there is the deeper meaning... everyone suffers from the same limitations. But we hold our uniqueness inside. We deprive the world of all the things that make us distinct. We don't talk about that which makes us us.
I may have COMPLETELY midunderstood. But I enjoyed the prose and enjoyed digesting it.
I appreciate how you so readily identify that there are so many barriers we as people put in place to make real, meaningful communication so difficult to achieve. I love how you are so will to talk frankly about it and say that these things exist and it should not stop people from having deep conversations with one another.
I don't know if this makes sense, but I respect that you were brave enough to talk so bluntly about all this.
Post a Comment