Choices

if i can't do
what i want to do
then my job is to not do
what i don't want to do

it's not the same thing
but it's the best
i can do

if i can't have what i want
then my job is to want
what i've got
and be satisfied

that at least there
is something more
to want

since i can't go
where i want to go
then i must go
where the signs point

though always understanding
lateral movement
isn't parallel

when i can't express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express

and none of it
is equal
i know

but that's why mankind
alone among the mammals
learns to cry



-from the Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni 1968-1998



(thanks, J1)