Response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt from March 30, 2014: I Can’t Quit

Hello, readers!

Earlier today, Krista of The Daily Post posted a Daily Prompt titled I Walk The Line asking readers about whether or not they have a disciplinary code by which they live and what those principles or set of values are. The following poem is my response to this particular blog post. Without further ado, then, here’s I Can’t Quit. Please enjoy!

*****

I Can’t Quit
March 30, 2014

People think I’m worthless and haven’t got what it takes,
And ‘cause I don’t have what they want, I can’t get any breaks.
People think I’m scum and have told me I don’t belong,
But every day I force myself to prove that they’re all wrong.
Too long I’ve lived a life where lack of hutzpah’s held me back
When despite my potential, I feared so much being called a hack,
And now it’s biting me in the butt and has been for so long now
That I’ve got to pull myself back together again, and how!
I’m not sure how it all started, what I’ve done wrong long before.
All I really know now is that I can take it no more,
And though I should’ve done something then to overcome my fears,
If I don’t take care of business now, things’ll just get worse by the year.
Therefore, I keep plugging along, constantly refining my skills,
Writing this and editing that, all the while bolstering my will
By keeping my nose to the grindstone and making time each day
To ply my craft in one fashion or another in hope that someday
People will finally realize that I’m actually worth their time
And things’ll finally change in this messed-up world of mine,
And for the better at that, for at long last, people will see
That I’m not the purposeless pile of trash they’ve long saw me to be.
They’ll finally see I have substance and talent and as such belong
With everyone else in my field who’s tasted success for so long,
And once I’ve been successful myself, I’ll once and for all see
An era in which I can be satisfied and carefree—
An era I wish I would’ve seen a good decade ago,
After so many years of educational drudgery and woe.
Only then will I know the freedom that adults are meant to enjoy,
And I’ll no longer have to feel frustrated like an insecure little boy
Who’s been ostracized by others ‘cause I’m not like everyone else,
Who’s not a weirdo just ‘cause I’m more apt to be by myself.
I thus keep on working, no matter how much or how little I get done
In hopes that one day, I’ll finally enjoy my day in the sun.
I know I’m worth something, and I won’t stop ‘til I prove just that.
I can’t afford to, after all, no matter how much I’ve been spat
Upon by all my naysayers who’ve told me to just give it up
And enjoy wallowing in mediocrity, “you mangy, flea-ridden pup!”
Enough of this pity party, then, for I must get back to work.
Destiny is calling my name, and I’ve no room to shirk
The responsibilities I have to all who wish me well
As well as myself, for only I can save me from this hell.

*****

Okay, pity party over! That’s basically my entry for today. Krista, I hope this poem answers your question. As for everyone else, thank you all once again for stopping by, and by all means, feel free to visit my author pages at Smashwords.com, Amazon.com, and Amazon.co.uk. Also, keep your fingers crossed for me in seeking official publication for my latest project, The Kingdom of Somnia, and by all means, don’t be afraid to leave me feedback on any of my works. If you’ve read a current book of mine, feel free to discuss it with me and let me know what you liked about it and what I could have done with it to make the story better. Same thing with my poetry and my blog articles; what do you like about each of them, and what would you like me to change about them to make them more interesting?

At any rate, thank you all for your time (and whatever feedback you have), and until we meet again, happy reading!

Regards,
Dustin M. Weber