Overstood – A Poem

I thought I understood

but it appears that

I overstood the assignment.

In trying to figure out

who I am and

what I thought I was,

I’ve been listening to

what my mind wants

when I should have

been listening to my heart.

My body is sometimes

not my own as it rebels

against the boundaries

of its physical form

and I am pulled down

into the dark corridors

of my mind when what I want

is to know who I am.

I am in a world

full of misunderstandings,

slights of hand and everyday magic:

random bits of glass

that shine like diamonds,

caught for a moment in the sun,

the sound of someone’s voice

that reminds you of

a love that you had long ago,

the sight of a bird launching into flight

and you watch as the bird flies away,

a piece of red string in its beak.

It has been years that

I have not understood

where I belong,

but when I accepted who I was,

what I was capable of,

it appears that I’ve

overstood myself all along.

Looking at my fingertips,

I see a magic that defies

what I can and cannot do.

I simply am and that’s magic

enough.