Living with Expectations

A Poem

Photo by Thư Anh on Unsplash

Can I live without this hood of expectations
draped across my shoulders?
Living life not knowing if I can reach my
goals is so much harder.
What to do,
What to think,
What to say,
What to be,
Where did I learn to be so damn hard on myself?

Mountains climbed but don’t seem worth it,
I still find reason to feel unworthy,
Dare I hope I’ll stand up braver
Now with legs to hold me up?

Experience, please don’t let me drown,
Expectation always slows me down,
And feeling overwhelmed by worries that I’m never good enough…
Where did that come from?

I expect I learned it long ago when I was young.

© Sarah E Sturgis