If you could pick
your very favourite human
then would you pick yourself?
If you could pick
the pieces into which you shattered
and glue them back together
would you rebuild yourself?
Just as you were
– with scars, and guilt, and clutter –
or would you rather
remake yourself from scratch?
Forge a complete new stranger,
all polish, virtue, glitter,
stripped bare from all your wreckage –
but would they be yourself?
Would they reflect the version
you are proudly displaying
or would they have to pick
from catalogues of selves you pin to your to-do list
but you delay becoming?
Which version is yourself?
If you could pick
a friend you’d bet your life on
then would you pick yourself?
Could you become
your friend’s fiercest cheerleader,
fueling their spirits,
hiding their cracks,
praising their achievements,
sheltering their faults?
Or would you pick
to pave their way with self-doubt
to criticize
jeopardize
weaponize
demonize
agonize
paralyze
terrorize
brutalize
minimize
neutralize
marginalize
dehumanize?!
If you could pick
a better parent for your parents
then would you pick yourself?
And would you teach them
the best ways to pick sides:
-Who do you love more?
Pick: mommy or daddy?
-Whose side are you on?
Pick: mommy or daddy?
-Who will you choose in the divorce?
Pick: mommy or daddy?
-Who would you like to bury first?
Pick: mommy or daddy?
If you could pick
the very perfect lover
then would you pick yourself?
Would you hold space
so safe they’d strip their worries
or would they need
to rehearse every word
before they dare to speak?
How will you pick
your battles and your trade-offs?
Pick a fight
pick a side
pick a knife
peekaboo
Pikachu
pick a juju to bing you good luck
pick a passion and let it devour you
pick an obsession and let it destroy you!
If you could pick
your very favourite human
When will you pick yourself?
Featured image: Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash
