Contradictions to Compliance

They were waiting for me to cry

(What a welcome!)

Then a promise was made

“You will never need to cry”

Preparing me for the contradictions to follow.

I was asked to play and not get hurt

Taken to a beach

And asked not to get wet!

It is all right to lose.

But taking part is important.

Winning is everything

All work and no play

Makes Jack a dull boy

(who the eff is this jack anyway)

Study now, you can play later!

Exams are not representative

Grades are important

Knowledge is the key

Be a topper if you want a future

Do what your heart tells you

So long as it is

A Engineer or a Doctor

Money is not everything

Saving is the key.

Be generous in giving

Home first, charity later.

Job satisfaction is paramount

Does the job pay you a decent amount?

Do not change too often

Stagnancy leads to rot.

Be bold but

Safety first.

Haste makes waste but

A stitch in time saves nine.

Two schools of thought

Marry the one you love.

Love the one you marry.

And both are to naught

As you are thinking

Why marry?

Born – Study – Work – Marry – Procreate – Die

Question this and you are an iconoclast.

Follow this and you are not creative.

Skip one and you are breaking someone’s heart.

Pursue money; you are evil.

Pursue creativity; you are a dreamer.

Have money; you are a crook.

No money; you are a loser.

Balance is the key

Is all you will be told.

Where the scales tilt

Is not for you to hold.

Vacillating between the extremes

Never could find the equilibrium.

My whole life is a conflict.

It is a mess I can’t untangle.

I have listened for too long

To another’s opinion.

Now I do not know how to think

On my own.

I quote even when I am explaining my own thought.

Shaped and formulated to the current state

By endless instructions and opinions from outside.

Too old to take risks

Too timid to take chances

Too gentle to question back

Too tired to explain

I have outsourced my life

To be decided by others.