Normalcy

Someone once drew a line
In the sand,
Called it normal,
And expected me
To believe that everything
This side of that line
Was supposedly right,
And everything
On the other side was not,
But I was never sure
Which side of the line
I should stand on.
I tried to gauge for myself
What was normal,
And what was not,
But somehow
The line always blurred
The more I looked.
More often then not,
Normal wasn’t something
I cared to settle for.
Most people, I found,
Weren’t all that excited
By the lives
They were leading,
In fact, on the whole,
Few seemed really happy.
I suppose many of them
Had played it safe
One too many times,
And lost their dreams
In the process,
Or had just given up
In frustration and despair.
I saw plenty of parents
Ready to call it quits,
And children growing up
Full of anger and pain.
I saw one time lovers
Engaged in open warfare,
Or holding each other hostage,
And I saw the fires of hate
Burning late into the night.
If that is what normal is,
Then I want no part of it.
Just let me be
As abnormal
As I possibly can.