The Man Who Didn't Know What Was His

The Man Who Didn't Know What Was His

There was a man who didn't know what was his.
He thought as a boy that some demon forced him
To wear "his" clothes and live in "his" room
And sit on "his" chair and be a child of "his" parents.

Each time he sat down to dinner, it happened again.
His own birthday party belonged to someone else.
And --was it sweet potatoes that he liked?--
He should resist them. Whose plate is this?

This man will be like a lean-to attached
To a house. It doesn't have a foundation.
This man is helpful and hostile in each moment.
This man leans towards you and leans away.

Maybe you've met this man who doesn't know what
is his.

-Robert Bly