The Gift
When it’s first received
We play with it
Like a toy
Then we want it to be just like
Everyone else’s toy.
So we dress it up
In costumes and wigs.
Paint on a new face.
Voila! We can all pretend
To have fun together!
Then comes a long period of
Growing very attached to it
No, we realize, it isn’t just like
Everyone else’s.
So we treasure it. Protect it.
Seal it in a laminated box.
Tend to it’s every shrieking need.
You have to. To save this world
You’ve come to think of as home.
By this time it isn’t any fun anymore.
But then one day you see it
In a brand new light and fall in love
All over again, only this time you’ll
Do it right, not like the last time.
This time you see it doesn’t belong
To you. It’s everyone’s.
Your error is a common illusion.
Hearing this articulated out loud
Reduces you to ictal laughter
Which, if you’re lucky,
Goes on for quite a while
Until you settle down and start
Paying closer attention
To everything that surrounds it.
Then, just before giving it back
We play with it
Like a toy
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