Self-aware

For the tunnel dwellers, the outside world isn’t a mystery: they don’t know it exists
They don’t look in mental mirrors and they don’t meditate upon themselves
Perhaps they are less vain, or really do not care
But they are liberated by their narrow field of view

For those of us on the open plain, there are predators everywhere
The choice of fur is telling and the lion’s opinion matters
When in a herd we are cautious and fertive even as we’re confident
And when alone, standing proud and sure, there’s still that we are watched

Some people wander through life unaware that they are annoying,
Unaware that they are crass, repetitive or foolish, some people don’t know how others see them,
Are not told by friends, their beat is out of sync; but they are the lucky ones,
For they are not burdened by this awareness, they are not weighed down by its millstone weight

Job interviews, first dates, plays, musicals and operas
The victim in these scenarios are the self-aware
And the failures are often not
Thick skinned you say? It’s a better defence against that lion than you could know.