Intelligence

Intelligence is

Just as much a

Curse as a blessing.

Coupled with the

Ability to imagine

To create from nothing

Comes the inability

To turn your brain off-

To never stop thinking

And overanalyzing.

Thoughts beat a

Maddening tattoo

Within your skull

What if

                What if

                                What if

What if I did this?

What if I said that?

What if this

Turned out differently?

Your own flaws

And failings

Seem much bigger

Inside your head,

Magnified by

Self-criticism

And those who

Don’t have it

Don’t understand

At all.

Reviews

[Emerald Seas]

Hmm - I posted a comment the other day when I read the rest. Glitchy site! Anyway... my comment ran along the lines of intelligence not having anything to do with what the poem describes... I'd say anxiety and hyperactivity are not bound by intelligence. Perhaps if we don't know how to channel intellect into something, or we are bound and unable to freely express intelligence it may have a correlation. However, I know many highly intelligent people that are very calm, cool, and collected - usually very engaged in something or extremely successful with an ease about them. Maybe that is because they have made good use of their intelligence in meaningful ways. Just an opinion...

I like the structure of the poem - I just think the message could be tweaked a little to be more on target. Either go more towards the characteristics of anxiety - or intelligence - but I find it hard to grasp that the two usually go hand-in-hand. Lack of action causes anxiety (IMHO). I have a kid that has extreme bouts of anxiety - and although she has a very high IQ - I would not consider her anxiety to be a result of her high intelligence, but more so her propensity toward procrastination, sometimes too much self-analysis, and down right laziness. :) When she is focused more, outside of herself, and toward others - she is much more grounded. I swear that works wonders for anyone!

See - I wrote a book again. Good poem, CI - if it gets me spouting too much then it has me thinking :)