To Conform, or Not to Conform, That Is the Question

A poem

Bosnia. Photo by the author.

I am but the smallest subset of society,

yet the part that is I,

is bigger than the whole;

and so are you.

The god spark burns,

burns relentlessly in me;

and in you.

What is society other

than a mindless set of rules,

written and unwritten?

A many-headed monstrosity -

one head not really knowing

what the others are thinking.

A multitude of mouths babbling incoherently

like echoes of forgotten voices,

scattered by the wind.

Whereas I am aware,

aware of light, cold, and sound

the rhythm of earth, wind, and sea.

I am conscious,

knowing sinew, muscle, nerve.

And yet inside and outside the I and you

are forces, a reality, bigger still - than society,

and the individuals, known as you and I.