the essential self –
the one beneath the surface
is all that matters

(for books and other things)

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This one originated on the cell phone (I sometimes text or email things to myself in case I forget them).

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when we are defined
more by our hate than our love,
everything shrinks

standing on the line,
unsure of whether we should
go left or go right

don’t ruin yourself
pursuing the ones who want
something you are not

*
I still remember in high school when, as a young fan of Billy Shakespeare, I first realized that a few of my favorite words of wisdom were penned for a character who struck me as an utter fool. That character was, of course, Polonius from the play Hamlet, and this haiku references one of his most famous lines (“To thine own self be true”).

The incongruity of it fascinated me, that a line of such wisdom would be spoken by a blithering imbecile. That said, I am aware there are those who believe Polonius’s character was smarter than he appeared and that the dimwit act was done to curry favor with King Claudius. Which, in a way, may be even more ironic.