Not An Expert Poem by Jim Yerman

NOT AN EXPERT

I am not an expert on the stars or the flowers.
I can't think like an expert does.
I am not an expert on the stars or the flowers
but there are times…when I wish I was.

I used to dream how great it would be
in this wonderful world of ours
to be a botanist who knows the flowers…
or an astronomer who understands the stars.

But I never got to be an expert.
An expert my parents never begat…
No…I have never been an expert
and I'm okay with that.

Because there is a distinct advantage to now knowing
everything in sight.
It means I'm surprised most every day…
and amazed most every night.

I don't need to know every constellation
to experience the wonder of a planet or a star.
I don't need to know the name of every flower
to see how beautiful they are.

When I walk among a field of flowers
In a morning or afternoon breeze
I only think how lucky am I to share this beauty
with the butterflies and the bees.

Every now and then, only for a moment, I envy the experts
who have within their power
the name of every constellation, every star
and every flower.

And every now and then…
as I allow my untrained eyes and heart to wander free
I wonder if, only for a moment,
those experts don't envy me.