There Are Those Who Shy Away from Being

January 25, 2017

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is the Chinese, or Lunar New Year, which falls on January 28. This year is The Year of the Rooster.

Today’s poem is a Chinese, or Lunar New Year poem for The Year of the Rabbit, from the rabbit’s point of view.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

There are those who shy away from being,

However smart or talented, the leader,

Each eagerly behind the scenes, agreeing

Yet again to serve all those who need her.

Everyone is wary of such tension

As being in the spotlight must entail,

Reigning over chaos and dissension,

One who takes the blame when others fail.

For me it is impossible to think

That I for just one moment might be there --

Head of something headed for some brink,

Etched frozen in the flashbulb's frigid glare.

Rabbits tend to run -- that's what they do,

Acting well only when well hidden.

Best if you know best what's best for you --

Better off the bidder or the bidden.

I know myself, and so am satisfied

To be the one backstage, where I can hide.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/ther28.html. For more poems about the Chinese, or Lunar New Year, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/chinesenewyearpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Chinese, or Lunar New Year

January 23: Luck Is like a Tide Pulled by the Moon

January 24: The World Is Not Sufficiently in Order

January 25: There Are Those Who Shy Away from Being