They used to tell me,
"Just be yourself"
when I was a kid,
as maybe a way
to act on a date
or something,
so now,
late in life,
I have finally
figured out
what it means,
so here goes -
"Be yourself" means
don't be that other guy
who is yourself,
who is that phony guy
who is yourself,
but be, instead,
yourself,
who is not that other guy
who is yourself,
but be yourself instead,
so you see why
I didn't understand
what they meant,
and that was why
my dates
were all
****** up.