Perceived Needs – Ari Amala

Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER

I am vigilant as I scan the room

And extraordinarily quick to assume

That other people want and need my help

It’s kind of something I’ve always felt

 

So when I see that someone is about to sneeze

I seize the opportunity to people please!

I pass him a tissue but he shakes his head

And pulls out a hanky to use instead

 

I smile at a woman but she looks away

Because she doesn’t feel like being social today

I sit there incredulous until I start to see

That my perception of people’s needs are just a projection of me

 

Oh shit. Do I really have the audacity

To think that no one has the capacity

To take care of themselves without me?

That’s definitely an uncomfortable thing to see

 

Maybe all the needs I perceive and pre-empt

Are simply my ego’s masterful attempt

To masquerade my own desperate need to be needed

Yep, this stuff is pretty deep-seated

 

In the past I’ve found love by being nice

But avoiding conflict has a price

Because discomfort and everything that makes me squirm

Are actually what I need to grow and learn

 

If I am really going to change

Two things in my mind need to rearrange

First I must trust people to ask for what they need

And wait for an invitation before I intercede

 

The second thing I must learn

Is that love isn’t something I have to earn

I don’t have to pay compliments, placate or please

I can be loved just for being me

www.ariamala.com

 

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