Note: I've heard the word hors d'oevres (or dervs) spoken aloud a million times, but never knew the fancy French way of spelling it until now. I linked the definition to hopefully avoid any confusion for non-English/non-French readers.
Fruit of Fallacy
Caught between the shoulds and the coulds
Wanting to be more, unable to break free
I look to others with "wish you woulds"
Misdirected prayers to become a bolder me
I want what I want, but I hide instead of flaunt
Why should I deserve, dessert before hors d'oeuvres?
Maybe because there's more to life
Than justifying growth with sacrifice
I find praise through struggle, and power through control
But happiness is not a fruit of my ego
My identity is built on fallacy
Now is who I am, and all I'll ever be
This Week's Poetry Contest Theme: Growth
For me growth has always been more about what to let to go of, not what to uptake. When you get out of your own way, growth occurs naturally. So I hope my little poem might inspire you to scale back on trying so hard to get where you want to be, and give the moment a chance to guide you down the path of least resistance.
Creation Story
This poem was born out of a seemingly unrelated experimented.
Every morning for the next seven days I'm going to practice "flow art." I quiet my mind, pick up a colored pencil, and let my hands move freely across the page following inspired impulses as they arrive. It's simply an outlet for self-expression outside the cluttered channels of my everyday thinking.
After I completed that experiment I continued doing flow art on most mornings. When a piece felt complete I would gaze into it and search for a title.
Upon completing the above piece of art, the exact words that came to mind were, "Caught between the shoulds and the coulds. Wanting to be more, unable to break free." Which later evolved into this poem. :)
Sometimes trying something you're unfamiliar with can help you find fresh perspectives in unexpected areas.
Special thanks to @axios for inspiring me to start doing seven day experiments to see what comes of them. And to @terrycraft for running these poetry contests!
Thanks for reading! If you want to see more content like this please upvote to let me know!
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