A King In My Skin

Hello everyone. I hope you all are in great health and even better spirits. As you may have guess, it's that time again, lol. Back with another piece that you all will hopefully enjoy. Now, I must admit, after the initial inspiration struck me for this one, I had to sit with just a few words on the page, for a few days. For some reason, the rest of the words wouldn't come. I kept trying different ideas, but in the end, I was just spinning my wheels. And as always, when you try to force things, it just doesn't come out the way you'd like them to. So I deleted everything, but the core idea, and saved it for a rainy day, so to speak. And the other night, I revisited the idea, and finally, the words began to flow. And there was a few times the other night, where I had to stop, and fight with it a bit, but in the end, I'm pretty pleased and pretty proud of this piece. The genesis for this piece was in a conversation with my good friend, Rashad. And basically what I was telling him was, that from here on out, I was going to only worry about improving myself. I was going to work hard on getting better as a man and not being so focused on the trivial things in life. And I told him that I basically wanted to get a point where I was happy, secure financially, and where I felt like "a king in my own skin." And after he told me he thought my words were powerful, I made a mental note, that this would become my mantra of sorts. So the poem, is written from the perspective of, realizing things haven't gone the way you've liked them to. But in spite of this, you have reached deep down and inside and found the strength to continue, and you will not tolerate anything less than what you deserve. So there you have it. I finally stop rambling, and let you get to the poem now. Thank you all for reading this. It means more to me than you will ever, ever know.

"A King In My Skin"
2013

I've learned that castles in the sand
Are the minions of the tide
And what I'll never understand
Are the opinions some provide
But it's from here on out
That I will only listen to
Words distilled from lies
And placed in statements true
'Cause I've faced the consequence
Of an all consuming doubt
And this new found confidence
Has helped me tune it out
'Cause my will has turned to armor
Forged inside the flame
And my wants are now demands
So you all must bare some blame
Oh, my sword is made of flesh
Made to please my chosen queen
And my throne's inside my bones
So let me tell you what I mean
There's a king within my skin
That's now begun to rule
Without a need for counsel
He's grown too wise for fools
And this king within my skin
Would never hide behind a shield
'Cause the world is on his shoulders
So he can't afford to yield
I've learned the weak will moderate
And fools will just consume
But he who rules himself
Can always stop and then resume
And yes, the brave are dying young
And the timid dying slow
But I have far too much to see
To not know which way to go
So I've taken doubt by storm
And pushed it to the ledge
'Cause I'm fed up with the norm
So I pushed it off the edge
And I've come to find the view
Is better standing tall
'Cause hanging your head down
Will make it easier to fall
But now my will has turned to armor
Forged inside the flame
And my wants are now demands
So you all must bare some blame
Oh, my sword is made of flesh
Made to please my queen
And my throne's inside my bones
So let me tell you what I mean
There's a king within my skin
That's now begun to rule
Without a need for counsel
He's grown too wise for fools
And this king within my skin
Would never hide behind a shield
'Cause the world is on his shoulders
So he can't afford to yield
Yeah, it's hard to see this crown
That often feels like thorns
Knowing all men have a devil
Within them hiding horns
But pitchforks have no use
When your enemy is seen
In mirrors once seduced
By reflections far from clean
But behind these castle walls
Are the emptiest of halls
For the ravens bring no words
And the phones bring no calls
So maybe silence has been sown
In the fields I used to plow
While hoping I would be shown
The way beyond the here and now
And if I found that path
I'd wipe the sweat from off my brow
And fight to blaze a trail
That would illuminate the ground
And now my will has turned to armor
Forged inside that flame
And my wants are now demands
So you all must bare some blame
Oh, my sword is made of flesh
Made to please my chosen queen
And my throne's inside my bones
So let me tell you what I mean
There's a king within my skin
That's now begun to rule
Without a need for counsel
He's grown too wise for fools
And this king within my skin
Would never hide behind a shield
'Cause the world is on his shoulders
So he can't afford to yield
I watch my castle kiss the clouds
It's held by pillars made of stone
Knowing the world I choose to rule
Will only be my own
And the moat the flows around
Seeks to remind me of
The water I used to tread
When this world denied me love
But in time they've come around
And they seek to be the ones
Around the fabled table round
To get their hands on all the crumbs
But my circle's stayed the size
That it always used to be
So as I conquer more than doubts
My knights will be right next to me
'Cause my will has turned to armor
Forged inside the flame
And my wants are now demands
So you all must bare some blame
Oh, my sword is made of flesh
Made to please my chosen queen
And my throne's inside my bones
So let me tell you what I mean
There's a king within my skin
That's now begun to rule
Without a need for counsel
He's grown too wise for fools
And this king within my skin
Would never hide behind a shield
'Cause the world is on his shoulders
So he can't afford to yield
And now that I have found
What I thought forever lost
You should know that sound
Is the preparing of a dish best served with frost
And my friend, I've paid the price
For being far too nice
But I will follow my own advice
And make sure that I avoid being the next one on a cross...