#napowrimo Day 27 - “If I Could”

Hey, hey! It’s Day 27 off National Poetry Month. I’ve had fun sharing my Poetry with y’all. Today’s prompt is to write a “duplex.” A “duplex” is a variation on the sonnet—it has fourteen lines organized into seven, two-line stanzas. The second line of the first stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the second stanza, the second line of the second stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the third stanza, and so on. The last line of the poem is the same as the first. Here’s mine:

Day 27 - IF I COULD

By Farah Lawal Harris 

If I could peer into the future, I wouldn’t seek perfection,

wouldn’t try so hard to be not like me.

I’d grant myself acceptance instead of rejection;

then, and only then, will I be free.

That is the only way toward my  liberation:

stop staring at the roots and climb up the tree,

Eyes off of the ground to an upward direction;

I wouldn’t believe what I’d see.

I’d be shocked at what’s in my vision:

all the things I’ve wanted so badly,

Everything I’ve prayed for

could be mine if believe it’s for me.

I could have it because I’m sure—

if I could look far enough, I wouldn’t seek perfection.