No Leaders Please - by Charles Bukowski

no leaders please


invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
don’t swim in the same slough.
invent yourself and then reinvent yourself
and
stay out of the clutches of mediocrity.

invent yourself and then reinvent yourself,
change your tone and shape so often that they can
never
categorize you.

reinvigorate yourself and
accept what is
but only on the terms that you have invented
and reinvented

be self-taught

and reinvent your life because you must;
it is your life and
its history
and the present
belong only to
you.