Conformity - Visitor's Poem

by Joseph L. Campanello
(Mansfield, MA, U.S.A.)

I’ve sought the path that bore my name,
Clear and straight, from the soul,
It didn’t have to lead to fame
Nor money by the roll.

I’ve never joined the rabid crowd
As they searched for a suitable stone,
Because I knew just what it was like
To live and to stand alone.

Lonely days were my lot in life
For refusing to toe the line,
I also had my share of strife
For claiming what was mine:

The right to live as I see fit,
So long as I cause you no harm,
To speak my mind, or use my wit
To argue, muse, or disarm...

To do the work I was meant to do,
To worship God as I deem right,
To only bow to what is true,
To wage the virtuous fight.

Above all, to make this my daily credo, cry and norm:
To be myself all the time, and never to conform.