The Unfulfilled Life

Putting only 1 lb. in a perfectly good 5 lb. bag.

I was afraid of my shadow,

of doing something wrong,

of embarrassing my family,

of liking the wrong song.

So, I repressed my feelings,

primal desires, and my lust -

a pretend Goody Two-Shoes,

acting as he thought he must.

I feared water with cause,

it terrified me to the brim.

Nearly drowning as a boy,

I loathed having to swim.

I avoided all peer parties at

homes, pools, or the beach.

Peer pressures to misbehave

kept me home, out of reach.

If there was a time or place

someone would get caught,

I was certain it would be me

for not doing what I ought.

I deplored taking chances,

only would if minimal risk,

took the straight and narrow,

the safest pace, never brisk.

If I could only get a do-over,

still had a young man's swag,

I'd cram with wild abandon,

better than 1 lb. of living into

this unfulfilled 5 lb. bag.