Right or Wrong
By John Herlihy

I never get it right the first time,
I admit it and confess, the mistakes all mine.
It all began when I was just a kid,
A deep shyness of which I tried to get rid.
I preferred silence to the maddening crowd,
To cover up my fears in a childhood shroud.
I finally learned to uphold what I truly believe,
To openly speak my mind with no need to deceive.

I could create alien worlds without uttering a sound,
My forte to explore my feelings and write things down.
Solitude my companion, no need for idle chatter,
In the well of my soul, I explored things that matter.
It wasn’t long before I put my ideas to paper,
Communicate something to no one, then revise later.
Writing offers the luxury of no one else being around,
I’ll take whatever offered and hope not to run aground.

Eventually, I learned the question of right and wrong,
Mattered very little and didn’t equal the price of a song.
Getting it wrong didn’t preclude taking another chance,
Nor would I think to rely on some future happenstance.
Getting it right the first time seemed like a free bonus,
Getting it right sets me free from bearing all the onus.
Now in my old age, I am not sure these things matter,
Whims of the world come and go like the Mad Hatter.