Which Me

  

I woke in the middle of the night

All sleep gone from my eyes,

I started to do some thinking

And up came surprise after surprise.

I became fully alert

To a life of sham and lies

As to my horror I was stripped

Of disguise after disguise.

It can become quite amazing

When we discover who we are,

Not one or two or three persons

But sometimes more by far.

It is just like theatre

Or better still, Hollywood

Where at different times we showcase

The indifferent, the bad and the good.

Always seemingly on a stage

We are seldom being ourselves

But projecting some other person

We find on our library shelves.

Too petrified to be me

Ordinary, simplistic me,

I would rather be someone else

Like a genuine “wannabe”.

Yes, like an original counterfeit

Talented and unique,

Not an old piece of furniture

But more like a modern antique.

Not who I was yesterday

Or even the day before,

But by constantly reinventing myself

I won’t become a bore.

So that when it is required

For the real me to stand

I can draw from several personalities

That can meet your demand.

I can be “all things to all people”

To satisfy my greed,

Sorry about that little slip up

I really meant my need.

It is a Hollywood experience

And tantalizingly so,

When I can choose from so many fakes

To put the real me on show.

So from my repertoire of me

Which me do you want to see?

I have with me a great selection

Each one, a genuine “wannabe”.

Be careful the me you choose

It may not be me,

It may be someone else

Just pretending to be me.

Stewart Russell © September 2019