LesleyScoble.com

I wrote my poem in response to the theme What I Am Not… for this week’s Reena’s Xploration Challenge #318.

What I Am Not…

What I am not?
I forgot,
What I am not.
I haven’t got a clue.
Do you know what I am not?
What is not true?
I am not a thief,
(well, that’s my belief)
I am not tall,
(Which is what I’d like to be)
but tallness isn’t me.
I am everything I am.
I am not a slice of toast, buttered with jam.
Or a hot cross bun.
Or a sailor at the helm.
Or a queen of the realm,
(Although there’s an Irish king in my history—which is a bit of a mystery)
I am not a nun,
(I like too much fun)
I am not a man,
or a horse,
(All that could change of course)
I am not a top chef,
or a champion golf player,
a construction worker,
or brick layer.
Does it really matter,
That I’m mad as a hatter?
Whatever I am not,
I’m not what you think.
Can someone open a window?
What is that foul stink?
Is it me?
Can it be…
that I am not clean?
I don’t think I know,
what I mean,
of what I am not?
All I do know is that what I have got,
if it’s you,
It’s a lot.
At the end of the day,
All I can say,
(and keeping it short,
making it snappy)
Is that,
What I am not,
is unhappy.
~
Lesley Scoble, February 2024

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My thanks to Reena Saxena for her theme prompt.

I am not a construction worker | Photo: courtesy of On-Site magazine
My gratitude, thanks and apology for my manipulation of their construction worker photograph. I apologise for replacing the beautiful model’s face with my own.

Lesley lives in the City of London Square Mile. An artist, actor and sculptor (her first ceramic sculpture won the V&A inspired by… Award). Scenic artist & book illustrator, playwright (her musical play, Rapscallion performed in inner city schools and theatre school); TV dancer; Animator and illustrator for TV production. Set up Pinecone Studios Ltd and IIMSI Ltd drama and filmmaking workshops in London – producing award-winning films made by children.