THEY'LL
take your soul
and put it in a suit,
fit you in boxes
under labels,
make you look like the Joneses.
They'll tell you go a little blonder,
suggest sky-blue
tinted contact lenses,
conceal that birthmark
under your chin.
They'll urge you to have babies
get fulfilled.
They'll say marriage is easy,
flowers from Thornhills
are all you need
to keep it together.
They'll push you to go ahead,
borrow a few more grand,
build a dream house.
Your boys need Nikes,
your girls cheerleading,
and all you need is your job
9 to 5 in the same place.
They'll order you never to cry
in Southern States,
and never, ever dance
in the rain.
They'll repeat all the things
your preschool teacher said
in that squeaky too tight voice.
And when you slowly
let them go,
crack your suit,
ooze your soul
in the sun,
when you run through
the woods with your dog,
read poems to swaying cornfields,
pray in tall red oaks,
they'll whisper
and pretend you're crazy.
— Cheryl Denise
from I Saw God Dancing. © Dream Seeker Books, 2005
Each day we die a little more;
Stale custom takes its toll:
It is the unexpected thing
That brings life to the soul.
~ Harry Kemp, poet of the dunes
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