You Can Do Better

You can do better.
But maybe,
he’s what you deserve…
What you’re earned
Driven by fear
And not ambition.
It was hard for you to listen,
Harder still for me to say
‘You can do better’.
But you turned away.
Settling.
‘Cause it’s easier.
Neater. Simpler. Cleaner.
Than real.
You so readily disparage your mother,
For making the same choices
You now make –
Taking the easy mate,
and the neat relationship,
with a simple life plan,
Clean of passion,
Clean of fire,
Clean of outside criticism.
Real life and real love
Couldn’t stack up
To your perfect plastic persona,
The life you want to lead
Only so other people can see
You lead it.
You can do better.
But you won’t.
Because someone else,
someone whose opinion doesn’t matter,
May judge.

You can do better.
That’s what this letter will be titled.
It’s an obvious truth to all but you.
Let me be honest,
With you, who
Lives in an ignored lie.
You can do so much better,
but you won’t ever,
While you stay so insecure
In your own self worth.
While you hide behind expectations
Not your own.
While you stay so safe
In a cage of your own making.
See there?
I can do better there ,too.
‘Cause the issue, isn’t just him,
It’s how you prefer to float,
Instead of sink or swim.
He keeps you constant,
And you like that.
Never falling.
Never rising.
Just. Constant.

You can do better.
But maybe,
he’s what you deserve…
What you’re earned
Driven by fear
And not ambition.

Jessie Gutierrez