Not Tough Enough Poem by RIC BASTASA

when i left home
i was with

strength and then
i tread the ways of life
and met
beauty and lust
and love
desire

i thought i had what
it takes
to be tough
in all these

i plunge and
take the swim of life
in the oceans
of its depths

i join caprice and whims
and bias
and prejudice

and when age crawl
over my forehead
taking away
my hair and
aggression

i realize i am weak
i give in
to the wishes of death
i embrace
the acceptance
of my humanity

and then i give myself
a name: man