Georgia would not fit

Georgia would not fit
Into this It or that It or some other bit
Though she SQUEEZED herself down
To be smaller, and smaller
Or stretched herself out
And got taller and taller

She tried to fit cubes, she tried to fit trousers
Tried to fit circles and tried to fit showers
She tried to fit tables, fit labels, fit fables
And tried to fit people
And tried to fit stables

But it was always no use
She had to admit
Georgia, poor Georgia
Did not seem to fit

She started off small not fitting at home
And then went to school
Where she sank like a stone
She just could not quite get
The teacher’s direction
That came into her ears
And then left, by ejection

Next came employment
Into work Georgia fell
She worked and she learned
That she could do well
She did well at this and did well at that
Succeeded, made money
Bought a scarf, and a hat

But still did not fit. She knew it, and they did
“She’s not one of us..”
When they said this, she faded

Is it me? Georgia asked. Am I wrong?
Am I WRONG?
Wrong-sided, Wrong-headed.
Just wrong all along?

But then came a voice from inside down deep
A voice older than Georgia, spoke in her sleep
The pain of not fitting is the pain of your life
Denied by a culture of addiction and strife
It’s the pain of awareness, not a pain to deny
And it’s your pain to cherish, to allow, to let fly

So Georgia the river, flows now to the sea
And Georgia is honest, and Georgia is free
No TV no coffee
No car and no phone
But Georgia is here now
And Georgia is home

Mike O’Kane, Asheville, 2006 (Dumfries, 2017)