Free Power

When I enter your presence
suddenly I'm drained of power,
impotent, a first grader trembling
in the principal's office.
That's not my nature!
I'm confident,
bold, can assert myself when I try,
but not with you.

It's an old pattern,
I've seen it before,
always with women...
my mother first,
then women I know he
has found attractive.
It's my power, though,
not yours. And you can't have it
unless I surrender it, give it up,
choose to yield,
 to get back into a role
I know...a role I hate.
So, the rules have changed.
It's MY power and I'm keeping it.
You go get
your own.