Karate Kid
In the midst of addiction
We wear many masks
I would expand that to
Include
Personas and costumes
Addiction defined
Not just
The use of drugs
Obsessive thinking
Compulsive behavior
Manifestations
Of escapism
I started
Creating
Wearing
Perfecting
My masks
At an early age
*******
A teenager
Alone
Confused
On the streets
Fending for myself
Child abuse
Taken out of the home
Placed in the care of
The State Of Nebraska
Care
I really didn’t care for
So
I set out
Destined to live
The distortion ingrained in me
Fear
I had no idea
How to survive
To fight
What fighting was
That there was any defense
Other than
To run away
I had been beaten
It was one-sided
It seemed like all the time
I was
No good
Would amount to nothing
This was
What the world did
To the likes of me
The mid 80s
All that changed
*******
A punk
A thief
A runaway
I sneaked into a theater
Downtown
Lincoln, Nebraska
The ever-winding path
That led me
Set that day
That day
I watched
In amazement
On the big screen
A skinny little nerd
Scared
Beat up
All the time
Ran into this old
Japanese guy
That taught him karate
After
I lived at that movie
And all theaters
Showing any
Martial Art shows
I practiced every single
Wax on, wax off
Sand the floor
And
Paint the fence
I imagined
Always looking eye
And
Don’t forget to breathe
Very important
I started telling
All the street kids
That I knew karate
Proceeding
With the proof
My newly mimicked moves
Not only
Did people
Not try to hurt me
They were afraid
I might be able to hurt them
Empowered
Inspired
Highly motivated
I put forth
Any effort necessary
To continue
To build
My very first self-taught
Form of coping
In luck
It was the era
Two more Karate Kid sequels
Bloodsport
Kickboxer
Dojos
Popping up
All over town
To get started
Free lessons
I hit them all
My story grew
With each viewing
Each visit
To a new school
I tore tendons
In my legs
To do the splits
Like Van Damme
Everybody
Thought I was tough
If they called my bluff
Those stretches
Came in handy
I would run
Fast as hell
As I grew
So did the tales
No longer contained
To my fighting abilities
Reaching
Into every area
Of my life
Whomever
Whatever
I needed to be
To accomplish
Whichever thing
I deemed important
At each time
That is
What I was
One identity
To the next
So many stories
One would think
I would lose track
Forget
What I had already said
Not I
Effortlessly
It came to me
Having learned the secret
Knowing
Enough
Telling enough truth
Giving each
A foundation
Able to bend
To flow
One to another
Of course
It was not long
The world
Had seen Karate Kid
My gig
Seemed to be up
But
Something
Had happened to me
True or not
A valuable lesson
Discovered
A new way
For me
To deal
With fear
All l had to do
Was
Lie!
