Obligatory
I will not be:
A late night call,
An afterthought
A guilty twinge,
A little prick in your conscience
A sudden jab of memory,
That I still exist, brushed teeth
Knees drawn, hugged to my chest,
Playing with the tassles of
My silken stole
Staring at my phone,
Eyes glued,
For bits you throw my way
Every once in a while,
When at the end of your day
You do your obligatory round
Of social catching up.
With me.
Well, fuck you.
Michael Lankford
Mon 4th May 2015 16:36
When I read the title Obligatory, I automatically thought, "I hope this expresses some anger" which I guess reflects my frustration with expectations and assumptions we all place on ourselves and others. We often feel socially obligated to behave in particular ways or we feel a pang of consciousness. It's a very strange part of being human. So as I read this, I enjoyed how it took me through reflection, confusion or bewilderment, frustration, anger, but is ultimately a cry of triumph.
This is all to say, I really enjoyed this poem. Thanks for sharing it. :)