Someone on my Facebook page asked me if I could loan her some guts today and this poem came to mind for me. I wrote this poem to introduce myself to the slam poetry community about 10 years ago. I’ve mellowed significantly since then, but I still love to ask the “inappropriate” questions. 😉 Enjoy!
I’d like to ask an inappropriate question
I want to break through the PC veneer you wear to blend in with mundania.
You see, I don’t care about sports or politics or the latest news of the day.
I want to know who you are.
Are you happy?
I mean really happy – with all parts of your life?
Because if the answer is “yes”, I want you to tell me
How you did it
But the answer is usually “no”.
Yes, it’s true – I ask a lot of inappropriate questions.
Which answer is true for you?
No? I thought so.
I’d like to shift your perception – open your mind to new ideas
I want to watch your face go slack as your brain tries to put this new thought into context – and can’t.
I’d like to see the world of possibility split open your carefully crafted limitations
I am change, shift, movement, transition
Whatever you want to call me
May I loan you some of my energy (and some courage to go along with it) to break you out of your rut?
I know I intimidate you – terrify you actually, if you’re honest about it
Your fear is the price I pay to be fully me – that and the bleed-over of change into my life too
But this is who I am – powerful, strong, loud, brash – totally unladylike
Change is not pretty or soft or demure
It is adventuresome, daring, bold and courageous.
It challenges your beliefs and asks you to reconsider the foundations on which you’ve built your existence
I’d like to ask an inappropriate question
To make both our lives a little more interesting.
But I am at least polite about it
Say “no” and I won’t ask
I’ll walk away and let you sink back into the safety of your sameness
Or you can say “yes” and step into the whirlwind of unlimited possibility with me.
I’d like to ask an inappropriate question.
What do you say?
Would that be OK?
Say “yes!”
