I am a strong person, she said
who has been laid low
not just once
and not just twice
but a wagonful of times
and by things that would kill
a weaker man than I.

I am a good person, she sighed
who has found despair lurking
in my head
and greed, laying like serpents,
in my heart.
And what did I do?
I folded the despair into halves
and fed it to the snakes!

I am a smart person, she continued
who once found love encircling me like the kudzu
and the more I wriggled to be free
the faster I was stuck!
Oh, I was soo smart...
I became a spectre in my own life,
out of my love for that boy.
And long after he had gone
(gone the ways that boys often are)
I realised I was the only one who had been in love
and many, many were the days
I spent counting
all the hours wasted.
Yes.. that's how smart I was.

I am a giving person, she whispered.
I give heartache freely
I give judgement without request
I give way when pushed
I give up when challenged
I give licks to naughty children
I give cold stares
and the appraising glances...
I'm a giver of much, you see, she said.

I sat at her knee, all of five years old
smiling, not getting the irony
but she patted my hand
reading my mind
and said,

"Someday you will."