Shane Koyczan: “The Sum Of It Squared”
By: Tania Sheko
Tags: Advice, Slam Poetry, Living, Education, Shane Koyczan

To discover the thing you’re brilliant at

you first have to endure discovering all of the things you’re average at

in discovering this

you will discover something about yourself

not all of it will be good

but some of it will be wonderful

I can promise no more than some of it

because there will be a contrast

some of it will be difficult

you will not be prepared for some of it

there will be lessons

both sharp and unforgiving

letter grades

will become the promises of those

upon whom you cannot rely

meaningless

you will not receive an F

at falling in love

though you yet may fail

at loving the one you fall for

you will not receive an A+ at doubting yourself

though you will doubt yourself greatly

the tests you will come to face

will pit you against needles of terrible consequence

the night sky will not blaze with the light of gold stars for your achievements

you will be awarded nothing for your survival

pass fail will depend on how you view the world

if money is everything to you

but you have only a little

you may come to regard your life as a failure

but wealth comes in different forms

the form it comes in for you

will depend on what you value

if you prize knowledge

but have only a library card

you will be rich in a different way

your treasures will be dug

from pages of thought

chapters of imagination

wisdom

illumination

will open to you like a friend

curiosity will become a trail

you follow deeper into yourself

and the world

your mind is an open hand

ready to grasp whatever proficiency you reach for

you are free to pursue whatever knowledge you wish

if an answer exists

it will be yours to find

important to note

there will not always be answers

there will be times when confusion falls all around you

descending in slow motion like shattered glass

raining wounds into your confidence

you may at times

feel abandoned by your own instincts

the needle of your moral compass

spinning directionless

as the polarities of joy and despair

change their minds about beliefs once held firm

some of your questions

will move you beyond the dimensions

of true or false

true

you will have multiple choices

false

every choice you make will lead to the doorstep

of the outcome you desire

there will not be a teacher’s copy

of the book of life

no secret chapter at the back

indexing solutions to the problems you face

yes

there will be rewards

unexpected and dazzling

in the times most troubling to you

laughter will become a fortune

you pull from your own shadow

like candlelight from a womb of dark anguish

friendship

will become a jewel

sparkling against the intolerable might of isolation

a shining reminder

that you need never build walls

to keep trust at bay

some of it will be brilliant

some of it will spill from street lamps at night

as if weeping an incandescence

some of it will pool at your feet into a reservoir of valour meant to rescue you from

the inevitable eclipses of regret

there will be regret

you will hurt others

wether by accident or act of will

your simply being

will cause pain

you will not be able to mend all of the scars you birth

you may not care

but be cognizant

that while the present may never say it to your face

history will not shy to say it behind your back

you are

in the end

accountable for what you create

in composing fear

you will sculpt hate

in forging inspiration

you will author hope

each choice will present you with consequence or reward

from this point on

the most important questions you will be asked

are the questions you ask yourself

your education

begins with deciding what you wish to discover

in discovering this

you will discover something about yourself

not all of it will be good

there will be days of empty

that march through you like soldiers of diffidence

cheering on the surrender of your gallantry

the glory of this pain will exist in the fact that it is temporary

that whatever sorrow is aching to receive you

I promise you no more than some of it

some of it too

will be wonderful.