Flocking the flock? — Summary

Njogu_MagzContemplative

You try so much to be As kind as your maker Making your face as busy as a bee Not wanting to become a faker.

What is it that they see? What is it that they feel? What is it that they think?

Warm is your heart. Sweet is your smile, Graceful are your movements And gentle is your voice.

You want them to love you. You want them to appreciate you You need them to notice you You need them to understand you.

Cover up your emotions you do, Trying to be pleasant to all. En-caged in your chest your heart booms, Complaining of how you've made your mind a mall.

What is it that they want? What is it that they need? What is it that you don't give?

Always the nice one, But never their number one. Always the good friend, But never among their best.

Vanity? A trait or lifestyle? Reality? A choice or fantasy? Sanity? A myth or normalcy?

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Njogu_Magz writes about someone who works hard to be liked and still feels overlooked. The speaker addresses "you," so it reads like a pep talk or a quiet confession to oneself. The person described is warm, gentle, graceful and eager to please, yet underneath that pleasantness the heart is "en-caged" and "booms," complaining that the mind has become "a mall," crowded with everyone else's wants and opinions.

The questions repeated through the poem ("What is it that they see?" "What is it that you don't give?") show a growing anxiety. The person keeps guessing at what others need and never gets an answer. The sharpest lines come near the end: "Always the nice one, / But never their number one." Being agreeable, it seems, hasn't earned closeness.

The closing questions about vanity, reality and sanity leave things unresolved. The mood is wistful and a little weary, with a thread of self-doubt about whether this people-pleasing is even worth it.

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