Destiny

I never used to wonder what my purpose was because I thought I always knew.

He said, “You will be the smartest.”

He said, “You will be the strongest.”

He said, “You will do all the things that I could never do.”

So I never thought about my purpose, because it was already known to me.

She said, “You will be sweet and good.”

She said, “You will marry a decent man.”

She said, “You will raise a family, the way I never could.”

So I never thought about my purpose, because it was already known to me.

They said, “You will be a hard worker.”

They said, “You will be a great leader.”

They said, “You will be the very best of us.”

So I never thought about my purpose, because I thought I knew the way,

Until I looked with my own eyes and saw only darkness in front of me.

He said, “Why are you so foolish?”

He said, “Why are you so weak?”

He said, “You will never become anything like me.”

The fog before me obscured the road; I no longer had a path.

I didn't know which step would take me to my destiny.

She said, “Why are you so bitter and angry?”

She said, “No man would ever marry you.”

She said, “Family will just turn their backs to you.”

I wandered through all the easy places,

but what I was meant to be kept on eluding me.

They said, “You’re just lazy.”

They said, “We won’t follow you.”

They said, “You are the very worst of us.”

In the fog at last I had to sit and contemplate

What it was that I was supposed to be.

I had to stop listening; I had to use my eyes.

I had to look around me to find there was no purpose crafted just for me.

I marched into the darkness and blazed my own trail,

And better it was, than anything they had planned for me.