I Wore #42 in Basketball Because My Life Is 42% Gold
Thinking that the purpose of life was beauty
things looked good enough on the surface
to believe that my life
was 24-karat gold
Who knew that the purpose of beauty
is to make life tolerable
because life is actually about enduring
So, for years I barely scratched the surface
as I lived through what I took to be a golden age
and in the end it was
because 10-karat gold
is still technically gold
even as–
mixed with all the impurities
I did my best to ignore
until I became invisible to myself
but for the wounds from all the shattered glass
of every mirror I stumbled into–
it’s tough as nails
as am I
now that I see myself
for who I am:
The walking wounded
who will never stop
walking about it
having found myself
unstoppable
