Pieces & Bits

If I wait long enough

Will the words come?

If I think about it till I'm calloused and rough 

Then can I stay numb?

If none of it fits -

Who am I supposed to be?

Composing erratically 

Left with all these pieces and bits

If it takes too much time

When should I refrain?

If I don't embody the paradigm 

Will it always be a bane?

If I can't be what you crave

Might I satisfy myself instead?

Gather up every bit of skin I've tried to shed -

But that isn't the proper way to behave 

If it never comes at all

Is that really such a loss?

If I question every footfall

How will I ever cross?

If I don't know where I'm going

Would you help me find my way

Without asking me to stray

In a direction I'm not growing?

If I go where you don't want me to

Will you try to prune me?

If you don't like the way I grew

Will you accept who I want to be?

If I show you every lost lot and crumb

Picking up all the pieces and bits

Finding where everything truly fits -

Then can the words start to come?