I Want to Be Me

 

I like it this way

And you like it that,

This is where I am

And that’s where you’re at.

 

I like some things

And that makes me, me,

You like some things

And that I can see.

 

I can’t be you

And you can’t be me,

There are some differences

That together we see.

 

If I could be you

And you could be me

We would still be different-

And that, exactly.

 

What makes me, me

Is what makes you, you,

The differences, I mean,

Therein is the clue.

 

 

The exact same differences

If you see what I mean,

That’s what we gripe about

In case you hadn’t seen.

 

I do it this way

And you do it that way

And though both work out

We quarrel all day.

 

What makes us different

Is what makes us alike

But it’s the same very thing

Over which we fight.

  

We appreciate variety

When it’s our idea,

Change when I change

That is the only way.

 

If you want a clone

Go look in the mirror,

In any case I believe

That’s the person you favour.

 

 

Let me do the same

So that I can remain unique,

For, for me to be you

Is an impossible feat.

 

If I could be you

And you could be me

It would just be an exchange

That’s all it would be.

 

Unless…

You want me to be you

And you remain unchanged,

Two of you in the world!!!

Wouldn’t that be strange?

 

So, I like it this way

And you like it that,

This is where I am

And that’s where you’re at.

 

I do it my way

And that makes me, me;

You do it your way

And let me be.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2020

 

 

Why Can’t Everyone Be Like Us?

Sometimes I sit and wonder

Why people can’t be like you and me,

Why they must be so different

I am sometimes at pains to see.

Like for example a friend of ours

We just don’t see eye to eye,

We scarcely look at one another

And prefer to pass each other by.

But take you on the other hand

I like how you and I get along,

It seems we seldom disagree

And so neither of us is wrong.

If only the world were like us

 Imagine the harmony there would be,

Everyone would see eye to eye

Just like you and me.

I looked at a puzzle the other day

And no two pieces were alike,

Yet they fit so smugly together

And everything appeared quite right.

The whole picture caught my eye

Togetherness was the theme,

Though each piece was different

They created a lovely scene.

That picture causes me to think

About how I started this poem:

That because people are so different

This would be the problem.

Well that puzzle proves me wrong

It is the other way around

For if variety is the spice of life

Then diversity must be found.

If everybody were like you and me

Then we would all be stuck in a rut,

Pigs appear to be quite the same

No wonder they are always in muck.

So if at times we rub each other

It might be we’re coming together

Just like the pieces of that puzzle

That smugly fit to one another.

Stewart Russell (c) March 2019