Struggle VI (Letter to Past Self)

By Andrew R. Duckworth

Remember when you cared
About Versace?
Felt like you could
Never be successful
If you didn’t own
One of those suit jackets?
And then remember
When you walked in
With a T-shirt and jeans
And they looked at you
As if you were nothing
And soon after
You were nothing?

Remember when you cared
About Lamborghini?
You were obsessed
With the Murciélago.
And then you realized
That, most likely,
You would never make
In a year
What it would cost
To purchase one.

Remember when you wanted
To be a film actor,
And then a rockstar,
And then an artist,
Because your name
Might forever be attached
To something great?
And then you were
So indecisive
It took you forever
And a year
Just to look at your
Reflection and
See some semblance
Of reality.

Remember when you decided
That you would never be
One of those people,
One of those that look at
A person’s shoes
And turns up their nose
Like some sort of
Large-beaked bird?
Wow…
I was proud of you.

Remember when you decided
That a T-shirt and jeans
Was way more practical,
Way more relatable,
And in no way
Shows a lack of success?
Wow…
I was proud of you.

Remember when the car
Became a dumb idea
And that you were
Just fine
With the thing
That gets from A to B?
Wow…
I was proud of you.

Remember when you realized
That you needed Him,
The only one capable
Of dragging your stained
Soul from Hell’s dark gates
And washing you clean,
Preparing your feet
For a walk down
Golden roads
In the life after?
Wow…
I was proud of you.

There will be more struggles,
More clouds that swarm in
On seemingly sunny days.
But the Lamborghini
Won’t outrun the storm.
The suit won’t keep
Your skin dry from the rain.
The occupation won’t wave
The clouds away.
But the one who cares
Is ready to take you by the hand
And walk you through it.