Let Me Be Me

by Rick Williams


It's fair to say that I repress
to shy from confrontation.
A lot of things I'd like to say
I don't in resignation.

Can men not wear upon their heads
more than one hat in life?
Can we not be multifaceted
or complex to our wife?

I'm just as guilty with my ways

and my lack of willingness;

I like to lag and do my thing

and socially regress.

I think of things I'd like to do
And shrug a mental sigh.
What's the use when outcomes are
"a waste" in others' eye?

If I like to do some things manually
like chopping foods by hand;
should I be made to feel I'm weird
and have my actions panned?

People, like snowflakes: no two the same
and I think it's just as well.
If we held a party and everyone showed,
"Which one is me?" So hard to tell.

Count the things we have in common
and embrace the things we share.
Don't put our differences on a list
and use it to compare.

I will never be like you
nor will you be like me.
So go ahead and roll your eyes
and let me please be me.

Hobbled by Insomnia

by Rick Williams

A beautiful woman, Ms. Cruz
is stricken with non-sleeping blues.
She tries everything
that the pharmacists bring,
but still lies non-sleeping, confused.

"Why me?" She must ask when she tries
to get sleep but instead only cries.
"What did I do
that causes me to
lie awake every night with closed eyes?"

There must be some way she can fight
this curse that she faces each night.
She only wants sleep
and not fleeting, but deep.
In such a person as she it's not right.

I've known her almost all of my years
since our kindergarten naps and paint smears
so to trade places with her
every other night, I'd endure
At least on some nights to sleep she'd adhere.

Sips of Kauai

by Rick Williams


Land of beaches, water warm
of ocean waves and rainy storms.

Blowing breezes, sometimes cool;
where flip-flops and bikinis rule.

Chickens, wild, roam everywhere
no predators, and not a care.

Surfboards strapped to cars of rust
the search for perfect waves: a must.

Kauai is best in in little sips.
Romance the thought of annual trips.

See, things are different when it's home;
the lack of seasons, not far to roam.

Things of steel cry in despair
in constant moist and salty air.

The growth rate of the native plants
makes maintenance a full-time dance.

It's paradise in almost every way
and, like most, you'll probably want to stay.

But, enjoy your time, leave wanting more
and you'll never tire of the Kauai shore.