Fall Backwards Poem by Gary Diamond

I had lived in the past
I had let ruin spread like cancer
I had allowed regret to make me
One dimensional
Covert and cynical.

I shouldn't have done that.
But to regret a regret
Is a self-destructive spiral.

And I never did like
Playing with those spirograph toys.
I prefered the etch-a-sketch
Which has been shown to be
A hugely creative tool
At least in hungry artistic hands.

Keeping yourself prisoner is easy to do.
All you do is go so far over the facts
That the words lose all meaning
And you've begun to realise
That you need outside perspective
But you deny yourself THAT because you're
Too strong
Or so you think.

You need to let people in.
They're flawed and they're stupid
And in their greatest hours, priceless.
They help you see you are too
And that's okay.

Perfection is one of those games that gets old fast.
Perfect the body under a knife, damage the soul.
Spend too long amassing knowledge
Become booklike and dull.
Drink cheap wine in haughty company
And switch off the Earth completely.

I don't know much
But I know
Looking at whatever it is
From all angles
All the styles and fashions and minds
Keeps you at your best.
Stop pushing forward
Fall backward.