He new
Not the least bit sheepishly
Just saying
I am not the boss of ewes
And ewes not the boss of me
This is perhaps my first poem that might be best read with a New Jersey accent. This poem may very well be a tribute to a budding anarchist, one who newly recognizes that life is best lived as neither the boss of others nor the subject of bosses. Such a way of living springs from a humility and holistic perspective that bossing others around is an insult to the fullness of life of all. Plus, throwing off the rule of bosses demands courage and fortitude, perhaps not a little bit ironically, “like a boss” — though channeled to being the boss of one’s own life, not a boss lording over others. This poem also accents the boss-like oppression of sheepishly following other sheep, where cowardly complicity in the face of bosses diminishes us all. If you should seek to master such boss-less living, may you find ever new ways to live as equal partners with other people and all living beings, neither lording over or shrinking below.
