What I Wanted - Jon Jackson

[Larry Robinson]

What I Wanted

Why is it that people always say,
“I wanted to ask you”...or
"I wanted to say"...or
"I wanted to suggest something else"?

I always wonder, "When did you
want that? Yesterday? Last week?
Last year? Or, maybe you mean it's a
Constant craving over a long piece of time?"

When I turn back to my monkey business,
People seem puzzled, mouths half-open.
"But," they will say, "I wanted..."
I reply, "Yes, yes...I heard you."

The past wants desperately to hold us,
As if with blindfolds and gags,
And lethal loyalty to old, old tales
Which actually died long, long ago.

Isn't it time now to stand up,
And step forward in the here and now?
To be present in your experience,
And finally say, if even a whisper: "I want."?

I hope so. Because if we ride on life's wagon,
Rolling like a stone to the next future,
And our feet hang low on the tailgait,
We will never see it coming.


	- Jon Jackson