Diverting Attention Elsewhere

“Diverting Attention Elsewhere”

I thought I was the only one

who was chastised

for answering the phone.

As if being kind to strangers,

helping clients,

working with partners,

and laughing politely with friends

were awful sins—

suitable for excommunication.

But there are those days...

when dressing up

implies ulterior motives,

smiling is the same as flirting,

relatives become enemies,

work is more important than home,

telephones cause jealousy,

arguments grow out of silence,

and comments are misread

no matter how they are said.

Those days

when you just can’t win.

When you can’t even promote

the business that supports you

without being accused of

diverting attention elsewhere.

Perhaps we have a deficiency,

a missing gene, something

that should have been clearly marked:

“Devotion, at the exclusion of all else.”

If the only solution is Patience,

then we’d better hope

that time is on our side.

At this point in life,

I’m tired of changing

myself

to suit others,

although I notice that I still do...