I’m a realist

I don’t look at the world through rose tinted glasses,

I don’t search for the love of my life around every corner

I don’t expect things to turn out the way I plan

I don’t ever leave things to chance

I mull, I ponder, I muse

I learn from my past

Failures, heartache, mistakes

 

I’m a realist

When asked “What’s the one thing you can’t live without?”

I guffaw, knowing the impossibility that the question posses.

I look at the issue in the most analytical of ways

I rule out my initial smart ass responses

Food, water, oxygen

I move on to more human things,

People, objects, feelings

 

I’m a realist

I became one through countless days of pain and sorrow

I became one after hours of crying over things I thought I could control

I became one after my father left and my mom became weak

I became one after I felt the weight of death

My grandmothers, my aunt, my brother

I found things I can live without

Cancer, rape, divorce

 

I’m a realist

I know there are many things I can live without

However, that wasn’t the question

What can I not live without?

It’s such an easy question for most

Love, family, God

But all I can think is

Sleep, shelter, sun

 

I’m a realist

I know I can live without family

I know I can live without friends

I know I’ll be fine if I never find true love

I know all I need are the basics

Food, water, oxygen

But it doesn’t stop me from wanting

People, objects, feelings

 

I’m a realist

Things don’t go according to plan

I probably won’t end up on a deserted island

I probably won’t need to ever choose just one thing

But if I had to it wouldn’t be

Love, family, or God

Nor would it be

Sleep, shelter, or sun

 

I’m a realist

I know I could live without many things

I know that I want more than I need

But the one thing I do truly need is hope

I need it to get through the

Cancer, rape, divorce

I need it to survive all the

Failures, heartache, mistakes

 

Hope is one thing I could never live without, because without it I would just be a pessimist.