Next time
If I’m reborn again, some eons hence,
I hope my new existence isn’t me.
Instead, I’d like benev’lent Destiny
To grant a greater dose of Common Sense.
It’s not that I’m unhappy with my brain:
It thinks quite well, it knows a lot, designs –
But what it does is only in straight lines.
I’d like some sideways thoughts, if born again.
Awareness too: I’d like some more of this.
I’d like, next time around, with heaven’s grace
To read someone’s emotions from their face.
In this, my current life, I often miss.
And while I’m on emotion, I should stress
My own are buried deep, suppressed from view;
Not just from other people, from me too.
Next time, could I be able to express?
The words of songs some people seem to catch,
And read the “inner meaning” they convey.
I’d like to do that, in that future day.
Plus films and books; their meanings too I’d match.
And next time, my self-confidence could swell.
Right now I’ll talk of facts without restraint,
But socially – and this is my complaint –
I cannot do a thousandth part as well.
If this could happen, for my next go round,
I’d like to think that, while remaining smart,
I’d be a happier person from the start,
And live a life that doesn’t run aground.
I guess I’m grateful for this inner eye
That lets me get some focus on the past.
At least this way, while focus still might last,
I’ll have a clue what’s wrong, before I die.