Battles

At work, wherever I look there seems to be

A battlefield- at every step there is an opportunity

To fight a battle to make things “right”

There is room for change at first sight

In every direction, and I strongly desire

To disrupt business-as-usual, at the risk of drawing the ire

Of those in charge, who want to maintain

The status quo that they have worked hard to attain

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I was enthusiastic but lacked experience

I was idealistic, under the influence

Of lofty ideas set by academicians in my field

To me, real world scenarios had not yet been revealed

Eager to make everything “better” I got

Myself into situations that were with conflict fraught

As you might suspect, it did not go down well at all

Those were stressful times that I don’t want to recall

In the opposite direction I let the pendulum swing

My ideas to the table I decided not to bring

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Over time I have come to realize

Not all battles need to be fought, I can better recognize

The ones I should fight, when the moment is right

Keeping my overarching goals and values in sight

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There are seemingly endless battles to fight

And though I would love to be proved right

Each time, my battles I should wisely choose

Not hurl myself at everything like a cannon loose