People Just Don't Know

This poem I wrote when I was about 18 and trying to make some big decisions in my life and wanting to just go away and become the person I knew I could be. It suggests having a deep understanding about one's self worth and potential and not worrying so much about what others might think about you.

People Just Don't Know

People just don't know where I come from or where I will go
I sometimes loose sight of where I'm from
And I don't know what's ahead of me
There are things I know but there are things I still do
I know I learned but I don't forget
Oh, why are some things so hard to forget

People just don't know who I am or what I know
I know who I am and where I am
Although lost in other's footsteps I know where I stand
I'm not lost to me but others I know not
If they remember me or if they forgot

I know why it's hard to live
In a world I know nothing about
I can decide if I want to see tomorrow
Yet to me the word die means living in the morrow

People just don't know who's inside of me
What they see is but one part of me
I wish people wore the contacts to see
Not what they want but what is me
The me I see is the sea of me hiding the things within
Under the blue the wild and emotional sea

People just don't know how to help me sew
Every strand of character in my soul
Everyone knows how great is a compliment
But who is it that noticed my accomplishments
The things I do the things I say
What does it matter anyway

People just don't know how far away I might go
People say it's easy but what do they know
What do they know…they just don't know

Jarom Lee Thurston - 1992