can of worms

Opened up a can of worms,
Can’t seem to stop,
Can’t seem to shut up,
Stuff comes spinning out,
Saying things better left unsaid,
But I got nothing else,
Just writing down the bones,
Trying to see what I got hiding inside,
Leave it all here so I can go on with my life.
Scraped together some change,
Got me a six pack of the cheap stuff,
Somehow only managed to drink two,
Just like that the other four were gone,
Gotta start hiding the stuff or something,
Running hard all day at work,
Went home and just kept going,
Run to the laundromat/go to the store,
Drop the kid off by half-past four.
Back out again cuz the burger was bad,
Bagged up and frozen four days too late,
Just make some rice and warm up the chicken,
But oh that’s right/no one else likes leftovers,
Good enough for me but not anyone else,
I’m just a cup-half-empty kind of guy,
Never happy with what I have,
Only when it’s too late/only long after,
I finally realize how lucky I was.
Sitting here sipping a cup of tea,
Not sure when that started,
Gave up on coffee awhile ago,
The taste felt too heavy on my tongue,
Lingering for hours after,
Long after the caffeine wore off,
Even after the eventual crash,
Left it behind without a second thought,
Moved on to something else.
Changes abound big and small,
The less I think about it,
The more likely it remains,
When forced upon me by circumstances,
Like me riding the bus,
I never would have chose that,
But the commute isn’t so bad,
The ¾ of a mile walk is nice,
Gives me time to myself.
I don’t worry about the drive,
Leave it all to Dave,
Who leaves the mall at 06:05,
Monday through Friday,
Just in time to pick me up,
And I close my eyes and meditate,
Just to rest and pass the time,
And the ride is over just like that,
I’m feeling refreshed and ready to go.
The time spent outside,
Dodging cars on streets with no sidewalks,
Slipping and sliding on ice,
Face and hands raw and freezing,
Reminds me that I’m alive,
No denying that basic fact,
But so easy to forget,
When we hide away in our cars,
Protected by glass, steel and plastic.
Tired of hiding from the elements,
Cocooning myself in my misery,
Wishing for warmth and ease,
But hiding from real life,
Lost in my own mind,
Time to stop putting it on hold,
This is all there is,
But I long for something false,
Haunted by my demons.
I’ve tried and failed at so many things,
But that too is life,
Do what you can and move on,
Sometimes we’re too hard on ourselves,
We all house multitudes within,
Capable of good and bad,
Beauty and ugliness and everything else,
To be human means we aren’t perfect,
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
We still choose what we create,
Affecting everyone around us,
So what is worth passing on,
Love and respect and a clear vision,
Not out of duty or external rewards,
But because you know it is right for you,
To do unto others as you would have them do,
We create our own realities,
So what do you choose to make,
What legacy will you leave behind?