She told him, “We need to settle down.”
“People who move around
Make less money than those who stay in one place.”
“Go to college.”
“Chose a career.”
“Get married.”
“Change your last name.”
“Have babies.”
“Buy a house.”
“Live this life in that way.”
“Don’t question it.”
This is success.
The 8 Ways to Living your Best in ‘Merica.
What if I like my name?
What if none of it, or perhaps only some of it, appeals?
What if I wish to live on the shores of Africa, or write a book about the sea?
What if settling down sounds more like you and much less like me?
What if?
Maybe there’s more than one mold.
Maybe the old way is just… just old.
Maybe the new doesn’t fit in a shoe
Like the lady in the story we once knew.
Maybe I’ll never live like that.
Imagine this: I don’t settle like that.
There are books to write.
Dreams to foresee.
A Yacht to sail;
Her name is Destiny.
The cookie-cutter shapes me so trite.
I’d rather revel in layers of Baklava tonight.
Its papery delicateness, a savory recipe,
Satisfies the nonconformist inhabiting me.
Like a track star on her sprint,
I run around in my head
Attempting to catch a sound bite:
“You followed the road less traveled,” he exposed.
And it makes all the difference.
Ratified, celebrated, an unsettled life corroborated.
When a bride poses in a two-woman marriage,
Or an MMA fighter kisses a man on a television show.
Stand, rally for non-GMO.
Rebuild our schools.
Inspire kindness.
Advocate anti-bullying as cool.
Adopt a child.
Create work you love.
Settle down if it’s for you.
Even if it means free-falling,
It is something
I am not certain
I know how to do.