It’s good to be
on the giving side of no.
When you think you’ve
had enough abuse,
it’s almost fun
to have something
somebody really needs
and to just say
no.
Do that enough times
and you almost
get even
with a world that’s
no’d you
more than it’s known you
ever since you were
denied your first cookie,
first trip to Disney,
first kiss.
If you work hard at it
you can jam up potential
debtors, friends, lovers,
editors and other tyrants,
none the least bit worthy of
a little mercy.
But each and every no,
every single sweet no,
takes a bite out of
your soul
until all that is left
is a primitive, repellent
reflex: no.
By then, the world
has stopped asking you
for anything
and all you can do
is deny what you want
to yourself.
Dr. Thomas Reed Willemain is an emeritus professor of statistics, software entrepreneur, and former intelligence officer. He holds degrees from Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His poetry has been published in Sheila-Na-Gig, Typishly, Eye Flash Poetry Journal, Panoplyzine and The Journal of Humanistic Mathematics. A native of western Massachusetts, he lives near the Mohawk River in upstate New York.
Web site: www.TomWillemain.com