That thing you have to do

Oh that think you have to do.
You know the one…

That book you have to read,
the piano you have to learn,
the meditation you have to sit,
the meal you have to cook,
the language you have to learn.

To self improve is a struggle,
in which you have
that thing you have to do.

You may have your ideal self,
there within reach,
if only you had that skill,
were more learned,
had that something.

An ache
to be something more.

However it’s a shudder,
a piercing impatience held,
rattling in your mind.
Carving out that time for
that thing you have to do.

“Oh it’s worth it,”
you say to yourself.
“I will be better,
it will get better,
it has to!
I’ll learn to love it,
get that skill.
I just have to keep at it.”

But for now, it’s
that thing you have to do.