I Won’t

I won’t raise your status

I won’t get you ahead

I won’t impress your father

Your mother won’t adore me.

I won’t be a familiar one

At gatherings thrown by So-and-So’s

I won’t be someone’s foot in the door

I won’t be much at all.

And what good is someone with no clout?

A family name unknown

And what good is it to feel within

The truest words unspoken?

Some might say I’m worthless,

Or label me as weak

This innate sensitivity, despised

And mocked as more dramatics.

The tender heart I hold and carry

Remembers my pain through yours.

I care so much, you’ll think it’s fake

And that will hurt me too.

I value our connectedness,

and the power it creates.

I strive to be authentic, but that can

Still be hard.

I can love without conditions

I want to know your soul,

I think you’ll find your freedom there

And how the Me’s survive.

It’s not because I’m special,

And it’s not because I’m better.

I chose long ago

I’d never become

What someone was to me.