there are the times
when clouds obscure our view
of blue ethereal skies
and our world grows dark and desolate

days are monotonous and gray
nothing can put a smile into our face
we see the whole confounded human race
doomed to pernicion and without God’s grace

this is the time when it is useful to remember
that it is YOU who calls the shots
YOU who decides what road to follow
YOU who determines where to go
rest, linger, or proceed

so you can truly say
these are the actions of yourself
for which you need

nobody else

Jealousy thrums through the air:
The piercing eyes, scathing words.
Regret plagues an embittered soul:
Forgetting the past, maladies unhealed.

I can see you
          hear you
   am jealous of you.

Why?

I have my own gifts:
My happiness, my life.
I know my own:
My chosen arc, my protecting circle.

I walk my own path:
My chosen road, my protecting highway.
You have your own curse:
Your loneliness, your lies.

Now what?

I can't see you
            hear you
   am not jealous of you.

They say that my country’s fate
Is tightly tethered to my own
Her woes are mine
Her joys are mine
And I am hers

They say the same
Of my city, my state
Of my job, my parents
Of my church and my school
And thus I am lost
In a tower of tools
A ship of fools

What I would like to know is
When do I belong to myself?