You and Me

by Hazel ettridge

Wednesday 17th April 2019 10:36 am

There are two yous.

The reality of who you are and

The you that I project

The you that I want you to be

The you that I fear you are

The you that I have created from

Little glimpses of the real you and

From a deep well of guesswork that

Some might call intuition.

* * * * *

There are two mes.

The reality of who I am and

The image that I project.

The me that I want you to see

The me that I fear you will judge

The me that I have created from

Little glimpses of the real me and

From a deep well of guesswork about

Who you might want me to be.

* * * * *

The yous and mes

Live out their lies

In order to make life

More palatable.

We should have listened to Epicurus.

Based our lives on gratitude, appreciation, pleasure

Tasting the real flavours of this life

And leaving the lies to the flies.

Comments

Hazel ettridge

Thu 18th Apr 2019 07:44

Thank you for engaging with this piece Keith and Jon. I started out thinking about the millions of Hazels out there - from the Hazel experienced by the person in the bus queue next to me, through to the Hazel experienced by my nearest and dearest.. And it doesn't stop there - as you say Keith, she changes from moment to moment and situation to situation. And then there are the millions of versions of other people that Hazel experiences on a daily basis. It's mind blowing really.

Jon Stainsby

Wed 17th Apr 2019 12:16

Food for thought. Thanks, Hazel.

keith jeffries

Wed 17th Apr 2019 11:57

Hazel,

What a fascinating poem about the dilema of personal identity. The inability of not being who we really are and acknowledging it can only distort our view of others and their view of ourselves. From experience I have come to realise the easier option is simply to get in touch with the real inner self and project this so that others are under no illusion as to who you are. Then behave accordingly. However, this can readily put you at odds with others which will require courage to deal with. The majority of people wear a mask to conceal their true selves. These masks change due to circumstances. One mask for the family, the other for the employer and so on.

This poem will have us all in modes of self reflection.
Well done
Thanks
Keith

Hazel ettridge

Wed 17th Apr 2019 10:40

I wasnt quite sure how to write this poem. I think there could have been a richer use of language, but I also wanted it to be really simple.

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You and Me

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