In Defense of Fools
They're all around me—staring.
Their eyes call me names.
I am a fool!
Yes, a crime not to be smart.
Not to be what everyone else is.
So very smart.
I was the one who walked the other way!
Despite the graduation crowd all following directions—
I walked the wrong way!
You could see this lone character heading back, disobeying instructions.
What a fool!
Everyone was waiting for me at the other place.
The place I was not going to.
The place where everyone else went to, diplomas in hand.
The rule followers.
The ones who'll be respected.
The ones who'll get promoted.
They don't get laughed at.
They do what they're told.
Why don't I?
Why am I like this?
Am I certifiably nuts?
Am I the round peg who can't fit in the square hole?
Come on all you rule followers answer me!
What in blazes is going on here?
Hell, I couldn't even come out my mother's womb right!
A Cesarian!
Do we fools have a purpose?
Maybe more than just the short end of the stick?
A divine reason why we go against the grain?
Why we walk the wrong way?
Following the beat of our drum solo.
A lonely existence no one seems to understand.
Resigning myself to this strange fate-—
I've develop a sense of humor about it.
But I am always reminded of this difference—my actions, my words.
The—Unconventional—Off-beat—Unorthodox—Off-the wall—Eccentric—Outre.
From the one who walked the other way.