Underestimated

Novice, a word that negates
experience, knowledge, merit –
capability under suspicion.

I novice myself frequently,
as if vulnerability is a sideline
and humility commands denigration.

A tired and weary state –
yes, this is me, new and willing
to learn, but I am not novice.

So before you judge, adjust
your professional spectacles,
snub my potential, hear this:

Value is immeasurable –
unique contributions
enhance collective offerings.

(Reena’s Exploration challenge this week is based on “The Story of An Hour” which challenges us to examine our life and limitations.  I dream over and over again that I have returned to teaching only to find that the years I have put in have been negated by my absence and I have to begin again.  Starting over is not a new theme in my life, but my attitude about is finally changing, as represented in the poem.  Image from personal collection.)

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VJ

Permission to write, paint, and imagine are the gifts I gave myself when chronic illness hit - a fair exchange: being for doing. Relevance is an attitude. Humour essential.

23 thoughts on “Underestimated”

  3. Pingback: Reena's Exploration Challenge #116 – Reena Saxena

  4. Your last three lines speak volumes. Whenever I felt I wasn’t living up to expectations, especially my own, I remember what my mother used to say in her southern drawl – rise up above it!

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  8. Dreams about going back to a previous job – and not being recognized or belonging – happen to me every so often. I hadn’t thought about it from this perspective before. I also agree – powerful final 3 lines.

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