Guidance

By Gary Glauber

It troubles me to hear

this talented young woman

has been gotten to

by those who preach compromise

& the safety of practicality.

I need to tell her

to ignore the long odds,

to take her youthful beauty,

her singing, dancing,

& infectious charisma,

& pursue the impossible.

I don’t even know her,

yet am compelled to deliver

this dictum urging her to

abandon pragmatic caution

& seek unlikely success

performing because

hope is a funny thing.

When combined with

such rare gifts as this

creative prodigy possesses,

the world delivers

its own share of

miraculous presents

to those foolhardy

& persistent enough

to seek them.

That other path

might lead to security,

but what kind of life

gets lived when tinged

with poison of regret?  

Chase the spotlight now,

I’ll tell her, & never stop

believing in achieving dreams.

Gary Glauber is a poet, fiction writer, teacher, and former music journalist.  His works have received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. He champions the underdog to the melodic rhythms of obscure power pop. His two collections, Small Consolations (Aldrich Press) and Worth the Candle (Five Oaks Press), and a chapbook, Memory Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press), are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from the publishers.