How?

Many people wonder what would happen if they met the world's smartest man

What would they say?

What would be asked?

I have met him and I knew exactly what to say

And I simply asked,

How?

How do I stop the feeling of being a lost cause

How do I prove myself to be more than just a kid

How do I fail and still pull myself up

How do I smile without it feeling fake

How can I be more

The smartest man starts to speak but then they pause

Trying to recover from the emotions I had rid

without a heads-up

He clears his throat ready to soothe my ache

But I stop him and ask

What?

What do I need to do feel relevant

What do I do to be unique 

What do I have that makes me strong

What do I feel that prevents me from being happy

What can I do to be more

The man flinches at my irrelevant 

outburst, with each word that hit him feeling bleak

Luckily he rebounds, trying hard not to do wrong

He opens his mouth, his intent not snappy

But I stop him and ask

Where?

Where do I go to change to be more than just an ally

Where do I need to improve to be perfect

Where do I start to learn from a mistake

Where do I begin on the history of my pain

Where could I be more?

The man stands waiting for a finale

When he assumes I’m done, he starts to quietly reflect

on how to help me and how to make me not break 

As he begins to talk to keep me sane

I stop him and ask

When?

When do I have people who care for me the same way I care for them

When do I stop being a burden in my friends lives

When do I become the legend I desperately want to be

When do I finally get to numb my aching heart 

When do I become more?

The man cannot think straight, still trying to find the stem

of my problems I've dumped upon him, hurting him like knives

Even the smartest man struggles to come up with an answer to fill me with glee

He still tries, opening his mouth, even though he is smart

I stop him and ask

Why?

Why do I feel like I’m nothing

Why do I feel like I’m not good enough for my friends

Why do I feel like words do hurt 

Why do I feel like happiness is hard to obtain

Why am I not more!?

Shocked by the honesty and the words so crushing

The intelligent being struggles to think of words to cleanse

my soul from the pain of the words I’ve blurt

Instead of saying anything he walks over knowing my hurt cannot be slain

He pulls me close, opens his mouth, I don’t interrupt

He speaks the words with defeat in his voice

Even the world's smartest man can’t answer everything

Sadness glazed in his voice

He chokes out three words

“I don’t know.”