NIKKI GIOVANNI

[mrjack]

if I can't do
what I want to do
then my job is to not
do what I don't want
to do

it's not the same thing
but it's teh best I can
do

if I can't have
what I want then
my job is to want
what I've got
and be satisfied
that at least there
is something more
to want

since I can't go
where I need
to then I must go
where the signs point
though always understanding
parallel movement
isn't lateral

when I can't express
what I really feel
I practice feeling
what I can express
and none of it is equal
I know
but that's why mankind
alone among the mammals
learns to cry