On Different Wavelengths Poem by C Richard Miles

I must not speak as clearly as you do:
I state; you misinterpret what I say.
I must not seek as nearly as you do:
I find; you shrug your loss away.

I must not bruise as lividly as you:
A gentle tap for you knocks me out cold.
I must not view as vividly as you:
You see in pastel what I paint in bold.

I must not work as keenly as you do:
I strive; you seem to fritter time away.
I must not smirk as meanly as you do:
I laugh; you grin in mild dismay.

I must not tread as surely as you do:
I stride; you stumble as you trip.
I must not plead as purely as you do:
I swear; you make a verbal slip.

I must not hold as weakly as you do:
My feeble fumble is your iron grip.
I must not fold as meekly as you do:
I raise and stick; you lose the winning trick.

I must not live as simply as you do:
I feast; you glean husks from the ground.
I must not give as limply as you do:
I fight; you fall in the first round.

I must not write as torridly as you:
Your idle scribble is my purple prose.
I must not fight as horridly as you:
My knockout punches are your glancing blows.

I must not burn as painfully as you:
I shiver; you scorch and sear and scald.
I must not earn as gainfully as you:
My tarnished silver is your burnished gold.

So are my words so very meaningful for you?
Do you now understand these things I want to say?
I’ve packed my verse with all my feelings full for you;
Now will you notice me or try to look the other way?