The Charlatan
Another "What Paul Did Instead of Finishing Works In Progress!"
If I was as good as I thought I was
Had a grain of the talent that others do
I'd feel quietly confident all the time
Not loudly uncertain and unsure all the time
Sometimes feel like I share in common
Traits with the magician and spirit medium
Charlatan sounds too grandiose
Chancer or hustler maybe?
Fraudster sounds too harsh
Delusional or pretender perhaps
But magicians and conjourers, card trick sleight of hand masters have merit
We know it's a con when the queen of hearts is gone
We know there's an illusion when the assistant has a body intrusion
The rabbit didn't appear out of thin air, there's definitely rigging in that chair
Does it really matter then if I'm not a typical poet?
What even nowadays is a typical poet?
I may not be Wordsworth, Keats, or Pound.
I'm not Poe, Thomas, Shaw, or Burns.
Too male to be Plaff, too white to be Angelou
Too modern to be Byron, Too progressive to be Kipling
Crazy enough to be Chaucer, crazy enough to be Joyce
But...does that matter?
I don't need to be like any of them
Unless I listen to my inner charlatan
*
Thank you for reading.
I had a spot of writer's block recently. Well...more...block to what I should be writing now. I think it was brought on by being ill.
Anyway, this is the result.
Hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave a comment, click the heart or do both. All feedback and interactions are appreciated.
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About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Scottish-Italian poet/writer from Glasgow.
Overflowing in English language torture and word abuse.
"Every man has a sane spot somewhere" R.L Stevenson
The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection is now available!
https://paulspoeticprints.etsy.com
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Comments (9)
Great subtitle and awesome poem. Your poetry is lovely exactly as it is!
Nailed it. I think so many of us relate to this more than we allow ourselves to admit. We'll done!
I loved your word choices in this so much. The word nerd in me was overjoyed!! And you are uniquely and wonderfully you! No need to be anybody else. So well done :)
Bums and chancers the lot of them ;)
Your trail of thoughts are awesome! Enjoyed reading this!
This is great, and so are you.
Nice poem. Doesn't really matter if you're as good as others, just do your thing and the chips will fall as they will.
I’m so glad you’re back! Thank you for this poem and your thoughts ❤️ I feel so many of the same things ❤️ You are a wonderful poet and writer. I truly enjoy your work! ❤️❤️
very nice buddy, welcome back, good to see ya producing again 😀