You Choose! Poem by David Taylor

So you say that we can choose.
We surely can, that’s not news!
We choose the colour of our shoes,
as long as that’s the colour fashion’s use
We choose the cut of our cloth,
as long as that style has taken off.

So yes we choose what to eat,
provided that it’s on the sheet
of the latest diet that we keep.
And of course the labels’ read
to be quite sure that we will not find
any ingredients that are unkind.

So well, of course, you chose to marry.
That was your choice, unless of course,
you’re of an ethnic family,
the kind that choose the one to be
to be betrothed to you, you’ll see.
And even if you did decide, what of fate?
Surely fate, it was your guide,
when you found your groom or bride?

So you insist you chose
the frame of mind you’re in today?
Or was it what your partner said
as you rose this morning from your bed,
that set the tone of your mood
as you face the usual daily dredge
that seems as though it’s always been,
the same, not matter what you pledge!

Perhaps our choice is
not what we think.
Not about our preference.
Not a choice of “this one’s fine”.
Not even one of “I want that”.
Perhaps the only choice we have
is whether to truly wake
or just go through life as if in a dream.
Perhaps that’s the choice
that sets us free
Of all the choices that are made by me.