My mom told me that
In the womb
I accidentally
Aspirated

Breathed in ****
By mistake

Who would have known
That would have set the tone
For the beginning of my life
I’ve spent a lot of time
Breathing in ****
That wasn’t mine

Cleaning up messes
I didn’t make
Hedging all the bets
I didn’t take
Throwing myself
To the wind
Instead of caution is
Where I’ve been risk adverse
Somehow the fear of
Toppling over other peoples’
Houses of cards
Seemed infinitely worse

I see I cast myself in the narrative
I understand my part to play
Set up and conditioned to placate
After that, it was a choice that I made

But I can’t handle it any longer
The glove no longer fits
I feel myself coughing it all up
I do no harm
But take no ****