NEW POEM: We Can't Always Have What We Want

The bravado and façade sometimes painted on is only to mask the layers of insecurity and unattainable ambitions that we allow to tear us down. Holding ourselves to the standards of others, trying to be something other than we actually are. It is from this place that “We Can’t Always Have What We Want” stems.

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We Can’t Always Have What We Want

A Poem by Simon Clark

I want to stand on a stage with open mouth and hear the speech tumbling out,

To sound like Olivier, Burton, Gielgud,

Those voices, their tones and charisma,

To hear the eloquence, effortless facility of Dylan Thomas in all his tuneful turning,

But what comes out…is my squeal.

I want to paint on a canvas vast and clean and watch the tale come to life,

To daub like Gentileschi, Cézanne, Cassatt,

Those colours, their shades and arrangement,

To see the artistry, artfully exhibited like Norman Rockwell and his Triple Self-Portrait,

But what pours out…is my splodge.

I want to write on a page with confidence as the pen does all the work,

To craft like Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Dickens,

Those verses, their punch and gravitas,

To read the literature, lyrical embellishments of Salman Rushdie in his freedom to offend,

But what spews out…is my scrawl.

I want to preen with a microphone and watch the studio roof rise up,

To sing like Martinelli, Warfield, Gobbi,

Those masters, their range and emotion,

To give the ardency, adeptly evocative like Titta Ruffo, that “voce del leone”,

But what comes out…is my squawk.

And just as I was complaining,

Bemoaning all the things I wasn’t but wanted to be,

The familiar maternal voice came charging through me saying “I wants don’t get”,

And there it is,

We can’t always have what we want.

Mother knows best.

© Simon Clark 2021