#whyiamthewayiam

He studied Spanish and went out to Chile

The terrain there was truly more than hilly

Then surveyed old sites in Puebla Mexico

Finding old relics colorfully decorated indigo

Met my mom who came from Colombia

Saw that she enjoyed dancing la cumbia

Got into things that were hard on his body

He is still my dad and I called him pappy

  My mom is an angel that loves her family

She went through a lot to make us happy

Delayed finishing degrees every time we moved

Dad’s habits hurt her she wouldn’t approve

She shrouded these things from our vision

Because our promising future was her mission

I’m an amalgamation of both my parents

I try to show the best of their essence

  After Cali we moved together to Napoli

At the summit of Vesuvius was like fantasy

Then we relocated to southern England

School uniforms dressed me like a penguin

Flew across the Atlantic to Ontario Canada

After more moving I’m now in Atlanta

I list the destinations and I say oh damn

This is partly why I am the way I am

  I value positive people and I love my friends

I’ll be there for them till the world finally ends

Honesty and loyalty are virtues we all should have

I expect that from myself and want people to laugh

I want to be in love and build something with someone

Don’t know when that is or who I should couple

Hate sometimes that I am innately a romantic

Because it’s hard to contain something so pedantic

  I have patience for things that don’t affect emotion

But when it comes to love it can wear down like erosion

Friendships can fill in many things we need as individuals

But the desire to have a companion is beyond subliminal

I was once in love with someone that was abusive

She was troubled and the solution was so elusive

Stuck around too long cause I thought I could save her

In the end I did what I could but became her enabler

  Being open and honest about myself can be difficult

Not sure when people read this how it will result

On paper words such as these help rationalize moments

Or handle feelings expressed in stories by epic poets

I just hope that when people understand me better

They support and appreciate me like an old sweater

Dependable to many and full of great intentions

Willing to help another through selfless intervention

  You may ask what gets under my thick skin?

People that hurt others leaving one in chagrin

Those that bail on those that care about them

Bigots and bullies that seek to harshly condemn

I understand that everyone has their own motives

But you shouldn’t exploit those that won’t notice

If someone asks for help and is genuinely desperate

Reach out and love thy neighbor on that merit

  They ask for a quarter to call thru an AT&T payphone

Just to hear their family that are safe at home

I know saying these things are easier said than done

But remember they are human beings that succumb

To the mistakes that many of us could make in life

Or hit rough times from being stabbed with a knife

Made my own mistakes and try to respond positively

The alternative is to do something super ugly

  In the end I work hard and try to be a good person

In the end I hope God sees I try to be my best version

In the end I hope as a professional I try to help people

Wielding my skills as precisely as a needle

Providing for a partner that is proud to be with me

Supporting her dreams and not an absentee

Making an effort to reignite and stoke the fires

So that she doesn’t grow bored and forced to tire

  The words in a song can really connect with me

Adding potency like the odor of strong french brie

I want to journey to places tucked in distant corners

Feeling out of place but excited to cross borders

Marking each stop with a pin on a world map

With her using my shoulder to take a quick nap

Life with regret I won’t ever understand

Friends this is Why I Am the Way I Am