Meaningful and meaningless
Some labels stick, some don’t, some are true or in between.
False, silly, hurtful, functional, meaningless, mean, witty.
The older I get the more labels accrue
until you can’t see me buried
beneath the nomenclature:
Damaged goods, resilient, loser, wounded, healer,
depressed, traumatized, healing, work in progress,
underachiever, deep, intellectual, slow,
artist, pragmatist, idealist, communist,
hippy, protestor, anti-war, liberal, bleeding heart,
Christian, Pagan, Druid, agnostic,
actor, veterinary nurse, hard worker, sucker,
psychodramatist, expressive therapist, psychotherapist, shrink,
immature, old soul, wise, clueless, inspiring, invisible,
weak, strong, coward, courageous, advocate,
caring, cold, in touch with his feelings,
Mr. Spock, Charlie Brown, Snoopy,
holier than thou, self-demeaning, realistic, cynical,
punster, silly, serious, naive, disingenuous, introspective,
critical, judgmental, non-judgmental,
male pig, feminist,
sarcastic, hurtful,
kind, nurturing,
fatso, lean, martyr, defeatist,
hard worker, sucker, reliable, will o’the wisp,
space cadet, astute, obtuse, obscure, incisive,
peacemaker, troublemaker,
pothead, tripper, alcoholic, in recovery, stick in the mud,
arrogant, bitter, compassionate, magnanimous,
inspirational, dark, self-absorbed, altruistic,
creative, unpublished, published, poet, story-teller, author,
woodworker, flutist, artist, sculptor
baby, child, young, middle-aged, old…
Lover, fiancee, husband, father, ‘Poppy’, Dad,
Leroy, Roy, Ryan, Wry.
How can one have so many labels,
contradictory, complimentary, derogatory,
and still, be who they are
comprised of who they were
and guess who they will be?
Time to breathe in the present.
Some say let go of identity,
others tout the self-made person.
There is a center.
There must be centers,
of me, you, they,
interacting like
“God playing
hide and seek
with Himself”…
We are both transient and immutable;
if there is self don’t let it be defined
by what we are called by wise ones and fools.
If there is a Center of all centers
we are drawn to it.
We will arrive.
Self-image
will cease
to matter.
~ Wry Welwood
20th of July 2021
Written in response to Sahil Patel of The Lark’s prompt: unlabel yourself
Thanks to Denise Larkin.
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