We Must Give Up the Dream
That song that you made up in your own head
takes on a new life if- you can one day hear it
really playing out loud instead
To the taking in of all the beauty of a lake
despite all it’d been built up to be
you must be there to see what nature can make
The time, the work, the stress required just to capture
that degree or vocation- will always outmatch
the childhood daydreaming of the stature
The planning and the plotting in order to make yield
acceptance as a Marine- never could substitute
for all the fear felt on a battlefield
The expectation of: your own child’s innocence discerned
or their precious feathered hair- fails to compare
to their actual, true tenderness; unconditional love returned
Visualizing walking hand-in-hand in meadow sweet
cannot rival the actuality of taking
those very steps with our own feet
To knowing well and anticipating that very day you die
it surely can’t replicate that feeling
of finally departing your body–to fly
Life won't always be how it would seem
as we live, learn, listen, love and leave
But when we encounter the real thing we give up the dream
About this poem
Inspired by a short story l read recently...there just seems to be undeniable truth in this sentiment.
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"We Must Give Up the Dream" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/158919/we-must-give-up-the-dream>.
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