Friday, May 4, 2007

EXPECTATIONS II

Ok so my writing(and dedication to blogging) sucks but like i said in my first post,as much as possible,i intend to convey a message with each post; some directed at specific individuals, others, just a general theme most people can relate to. I've been labelled "deep"; my reply to that is this "life's deep and should be lived deliberately not by happenstance"(not so harsh-sounding i hope).
A coupla weeks back i wrote a little piece on expectations; my muses were a bereaved wife and her only son. What prompted the piece? My honest observation of the fact that matching people and expectations is a very delicate task much like looking for the right peg for the right hole. I like to think of people as the holes(they weren't designed to be moved around a lot) while expectations would be the pegs. Every reasonable sane person on earth carries pegs but it takes patience and maturity to wait for the right hole for a given peg. There are holes-in-evolution viz people becoming what we expect of them, holes that apparently come preformed(people who have learnt to fulfil the needs we express before we get to meet them).
Not to launch into an unnecessary tirade, placing the wrong peg in a hole can confuse the hole especially when he/she is yet to fully understand him/herself. And this happens very often. The mother-son muse was just an analogy in which i judged the mother guilty; Here's why: There are different needs filled by male roles in a woman's life; they include company/companionship, strength, mentorship and procreation. Some are filled by fathers, some brothers, platonic male friends/colleagues and a "special one". More often than not that special one's the male who's able to successfully fulfil or negotiate the fulfillment of these needs. This might just be why that one true love remains irreplaceable for most chicks. Placing all these expectations on an unprepared son can have one of 2 effects: It can
confuse him a short while then he bounces back or it can confuse him for a very long while; The latter being a situation whereby both parties do not broach the issue by TALKING about it. I bore you guys to death, don't I?
Anyway, today's piece looks at expectations from another perspective; It's an attempt to underscore their importance in oiling the wheels of personal progress. Pretty much a rose and thorn combination right? I say no more. Hope you enjoy reading it. And please share your opinion on the subject.


Today he lacks form;
Largely primordial in thought,
Ruled by his needs,
His mental processes shut down,
The minute they are filled.
He's got no vision
or plan or purpose
Time merges for him
The days indistinct from one another
No sense of direction
Hence no landmarks
To describe his journey thus far.


Yesterday was different though
The memory's mostly blurred now
Faded
Like a 20 year old polaroid
The details sketchy
But recognizable
Yesterday had form
And purpose
Yesterday was governed by others
And the need
To measure up
Or be left behind


Tomorrow!
The mere thought hurts now
Cos he knows he's so far behind
Catchin' up's a fool's dream.
At the end
Of his seven seasons of Idleness
He's learnt that expectations
As heavy as they might be
Are life's catalysts
whether invoked by others
Or self
They cause tiny little reactions
That add up to make the polaroid.


He picks himself up
Beats the dust from his clothes
And begins the long journey home.

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