Difficult People

Difficult People

They are everywhere,
         impeding me,being, stupid,inconciderate -
                   How can they not know that I need
                             their cooperation, obedience, deference

Difficult people
          when will they move out of my way
                   bend to my will, recognize my needs,
         ackowledge my importance, my value.
                   When will they see the error of their ways.


They go on and on and on about this and that thing or another
         as though I wanted to hear what they had to say,

They drive too slow or too fast or to reckless,
         make demands on my time
                   do not keep their word with me,

Can they not see what a problem they are?

Difficult people

Sometimes I think they cannot hear,
         for the do not listen
                   They are mousy and indecisive,
                             they are bossy and arrogant,
         they hog all the attention
                   and yell, look at me!

They are full of self pity
         they know everything
they tell me about their connections,
         collections, their children,
                   how hard they have had it,
                             how good they are doing

They do not have the ability to take direction
         They end up in my way,
                   They cannot take good criticism
         they have the wrong politics
                   and/or religion
                             they work wrong, think wrong and dress wrong

Their morals are upside down and
         they cannot make right choices


Ah, the world is full of them -

I hate that they are mirrors
         each reflecting shards of me
                   from one angle or another
         that I must piece together, to see...
                   where to move that might not fall back into the
                             familiar tracks life has laid out for me.

Difficult people
         Why do I not see myself over there
                   how can I see it is only a distorted
                             fragment that I look at?

How can I see and find what is whole -
         still... unified?

When can I learn to use them to piece myself
         back into wholeness and let them be?
When do they cease to be difficult people
          and become what awakens me
                   to my limitations, my sleep,
                             my tomb of familiarity and habit.