Being Myself Poem by Chris Embrick

At twenty my tenor voice
Was nothing short of frightening
The doctor's prognosis
My vocal cords needed tightening
So I took lessons for a year
Then proudly gave my first audition
But all the sounds stuck in my throat
I couldn't hit a single note
All the Broadway lights went out
With my singing ambitions.

At thirty I decided
My hidden talent was to act
If Forrest Gump could do it
Surely I had the knack
But an amateur off the street
Got the leading part
So I went to acting school
And graduated college
Surely I had star potential now
Gaining all that knowledge
But the casting director said he needed
Someone skilled in the martial arts.

At fifty I decided
My career must be in flight
I practiced climbing on the roof
To get over my fear of heights
If I couldn't make it low
My destiny must be high
But every flight instructor
Turned me down
I never got my feet off the ground
I guess I never should have asked them
Why we needed air to fly.

I'm a young eighty now
Working hard and going strong
I wrote a best seller about success
Now, I'm working from my home
All those singing, acting, flying
Books are on the shelf
Self-examination made it clearer
I found the answer in the mirror
I found my greatest talent all this time
Was just being myself.