"I"

By Ivar Ditlef-Nielsen
From the book Selected Poems (Poelosophy)

I am the only I.
What I hear, feel and see
Is my world, it is me.
All the other,
The YOU’s, the THEYs,
The HEs and the Shes
Don’t know what it means
To be me.
I am the only I.

I am the only I
With conscience
And will to act
And choose on my own,
And stand alone.
I am free
In a beautiful world
Of my own
Which nobody can see
Like me.

I am the only I,
An unsolved mystery,
An oasis in an abundant
Sea of life.
Unique and alone with
Millions of other Is.
But I never want
To be another I
It is my I till I die.

Alas, the other:
The YOUs, the THEYs,
The HEs and the SHEs
Losing there is
In compromise and expediency
Won’t let me be.
They want me to forget my I
And become part of the whole
“Conform. Do like us”,
So I am told.

Am I losing my I?
Will it be there when I die?
Wo;; O become like
The YOUs, the THEYs
The HEs and the SHEs
With no I-dentity
And no I to survive?

I think I got the book when I was at ASC (Antigua State College). I loved this poem so much that I read it over and over. Then one day I read the other poems and I fell in love with them. The book itself inspires me to put together my own book of poetry because it is so simply made.

I also like the concept of making something that would be coveted by someone else. Be it a cool T-shirt or a poem that inspires.