I have a secret, it took a long while
to understand
I am my own man, I don’t require
another person to grant me self worth
With age grants understanding

You can’t lead me, control me or force
me into a box called normal

I don’t need constant supervision,  or
a person to decide my fate
Win or lose, I am my own person
Those younger might judge me, yet truth
is I don’t care what the world thinks of me

I have been, son,brother,husband and father
I served my country, and did every labor job
you can think of
Being forced back into someone else’s idea
of who I should be is not happening

I’m too old, too jaded and I am not ruled by my
biological urges, or someone else’s whims
I control my destiny,  and will never go back
to the fool I once was

I will walk my own path, alone or if you choose to follow, but I will never surrender my
will again.

An Original Poem by H.R. Beebe