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The word deferred is define as to exempt temporarily from induction; to put off action or delay; keeping something from occurring until a future time; decide to do something later on; procrastinate; postpone; yield respectfully in judgment/ opinion; to refer.
I propose What Happens to a Fitness Dream Deferred? You may ask how this relates to fitness or wellness. The theme of this poem has to deal with postponing one’s deepest desires can lead to destruction. This can be seen in the clients that I work with on a daily basis. They come in with a goal i.e. weight loss, performance enhancement, or muscle mass gains; however, during the course of the journey, the goal becomes postponed never to be reached.
The questions in the poem are all rhetorical questions, because they intend to answer themselves. The question “What happens to a dream deferred?” appears to be answered with nothing but more questions. But if we analyze each question we get an idea of what the speaker really believes about dreams/goals being postponed. At the same rate, clients who have a goal may experience a dream deferred. The “dream” that the speaker is describing can be translated to a fitness goal, not just dreams experienced during sleep. The dream is important to the client’s life. But what dream is it exactly? The poem does not choose the dream but leaves it up to the reader. Nevertheless, the speaker’s position is clear that any important goal that must be delayed can have serious negative affects. As we look at each question we find out what those affects are. With each question the speaker offers a possibility of each negative affect.
The goal is central to what makes the client a valuable member of society, their self-worth. But suppose that person with the goal is told they cannot fulfill it just yet; they must wait until the trainer decides when they can lose the weight, or the nutritionist decides when it is time for them to change their diet.
What if the client has to take some other fitness goal that he/she lacks interest in i.e. the client comes in wanting to loss weight but the trainer decides for the client that they will work on functional training? What if they have no idea how long it will take to lose the weight (which usually is the case when most clients come in)? And what if they feel that perhaps they can never lose the weight or reach the goal? What happens then?
Perhaps a goal put off too long is like meat that had rotted. Dead animal flesh that some people use for food will turn rancid and give off horrible odors if not used within a certain period of time. If the goal is not realized in a timely fashion, it may seem to decay because it dies.
The second stanza is not a question bet merely a “maybe” suggestion: maybe the goal just sags like trying to carry something heavy. A heavy load makes one walk slowly, makes one clumsy as they try to move under the load. The goal not realized may become heavy to bear, because it still weighs on one’s mind with musing like “what might have been”, “if only”, “I guess I’ll never know”, “the one that got away.” All these useless thoughts that dip back into the past, weigh heavy on the mind that has had to defer a goal. This sagging under a heavy load might lead to depression and mental lethargy.
