I Need to Talk to You
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PARENTS: I need to talk to you, my dear, Of many, many things: Of what I wish and what I dream And what my silence sings; Of all the things I want for you And all the things I fear, And all the things I try to say But never can make clear. I wish that you could know me, yet I'm glad that you do not. Sometimes I see in you the unformed Person I forgot. I wish I could protect you From all that conquered me, And make of you a mirror of The self I could not be. CHILDREN: I need to talk to you, right now! I've got a lot to say About the way you handle me And why I act this way. I know you love me, though sometimes Your anger's all I see. But if I do just what you want, Then I'll be you, not me. I need to get you off my back And also have you near. I need to learn the limits of My courage and my fear. I need to ramble on my own And sometimes, yes, get lost, And touch the heart of ecstasy Regardless of the cost. GRANDPARENTS: I need to talk to all of you, I am so much alone. I hope that you can spare for me Five minutes on the phone. My life was once so full of life, So packed with toil and love. Now it's full of memories That dance but do not move. You do not know me really now -- To you I'm mainly old, Befuddled, frail, incompetent, A child you have to scold. But inside I'm still mainly me, The one who made you, you, Now a husk without a seed And little left to do. ALL: I need to talk to you, I need All of you to know The me I think of as myself, The me I rarely show. By those I love the most, I find That I'm most often seen Through acts I would undo and words I do not really mean. I need to tell you everything That bursts within my heart, Simply, just the way it is, With neither craft nor art. I need you all to see me With love and sympathy, And so I need to talk to you -- You need to talk to me? Copyright by Nicholas Gordon. Free for personal or non-commercial use.
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