Who Am I

If I were two-faced, would I be waring this one? - Abraham Lincoln

who am i

who was i

who could i be

where went the moon and sea

what happened to an honest heart's innocent plea

someone tell me please

quickly

before i'm swept up by yesterday's laughing breeze

no pockets

no id

no lover

no key

no bold decree

no longer us but you and me

tell me please

so i know precisely who to be

Author's Note

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

Sounds like something of an identity crisis here. The speaker seems torn between past and future and is really not totally sure about this moment. The second stanza is a list of the things he feels he lacks, and at the end he asks an unseen other to tell him who to be. As this person may be an unseen ex-wife or ex-lover, he may not get the advice he wants to hear.

[Pete]

wow, spot on j. the b. i think we rarely get the advice we "want" to hear which is why most of us never even ask. we seek reassurance in the strangest places and things though. that's why tv's and remotes are so popular - control ... :)

[Fabian G. Franklin]

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.”
― Andre Gide, Autumn Leaves He won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Bette Davis said something strikingly similar, "“It's better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for someone you're not. It's a sign of your worth sometimes, if you're hated by the right people.” Bette Davis As for myself even my enemies won't plant rue. A dog might dig to hide a bone on my grave. That's a reference to the poem by Thomas Hardy, "Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?" I love that poem. It sums life up in a nutshell. I'd place the meaning between that and Ozymandias by Percy Shelley. Everything dies and even the universe is in entropy. What matters in the end? Maybe my kids will remember me fondly when I'm gone. That's about as much noble fame as I care to attain. To them, I'm dad. I'm actually someone important in their lives whose words have weight and value. I'm good with that.

[Pete]

thanks. sounds to me like you've got the recipe right. i like what warren buffet said, "It's only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked." ... :)