Who's Your Daddy/Boss?

by Michael de la Guerra in Essays

A little girl interrupted a messaging session I was having with the CEO of a large financial services company.

It was his daughter.

She'd just gotten home from school and wanted to say hi.

He muted the Zoom call while she sat on his lap for a few minutes, everyone else on the call smiling as the moment's sweetness crept past us.

She walked off to go do what kids do after a long day in elementary school and the CEO turned his mic back on.

"Sorry," he said. "That was my boss."

Everyone laughed.

But it wasn't a joke. Not really.

Sure, he meant to be funny, but in that moment he communicated who he built his company for; in all seriousness, he does work for her.

The Subtext

So much of what we do with copy and messaging comes down to subtext: what is the underlying point we are trying to communicate through our words.

And this CEO in particular was speaking to people just like him. He wanted to reach busy entrepreneurs and high-level executives who were family oriented, so they could get their financial futures sorted out.

The subtext: "Do it now, because it's their future we're really talking about."

So Who's Your Boss?

After freelancing for six years, I got a job again.

And I have a boss. Again.

I'm lucky since I like her a lot. She's incredibly intelligent and I'm grateful I get to learn from her.

But in the grand scheme of things, who's really my boss? Who am I really working for?

If you have a boss, I hope they're good to you. Even more important if you're self-employed, because we can be harder on ourselves than most bosses can be sometimes.

And honestly, bosses get a bad rap: the good ones will push you to grow and will keep you accountable.

So hopefully you know who your real boss is, too.

Exploring the Poetic Voice: Michael de la Guerra's Literary Landscape

Michael de la Guerra's online portfolio presents a rich tapestry of poetry, essays, and artistic reflections that examine the complexities of modern relationships, cultural influences on romantic expression, and the psychological dimensions of love and loss.

A Distinctive Voice in Contemporary Poetry

Throughout his work, de la Guerra demonstrates a remarkable ability to blend raw emotional honesty with technical craft. His poetry collection features pieces like "HAPPY IN BED," which tackles modern dating concepts like "situationships" with a blend of dark humor and quiet dignity. The poet often acknowledges his own vulnerability while maintaining a self-aware perspective about the human condition.

His "Medical School Romance Poem" captures fleeting connections with strangers in institutional settings, pondering whether brief shared moments might someday become meaningful memories for the other person. This theme of ephemeral connections appears frequently in his work.

Cultural Exploration and Scholarly Depth

De la Guerra's scholarly side emerges in comprehensive explorations like "Romantic Poetry: Poems About Love Across Cultures," where he examines how different cultural traditions approach romantic expression. From Tang Dynasty China to Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, he traces the universal human need to capture love's complexities through poetry while highlighting how each society filters these emotions through unique cultural lenses.

His work often begins with personal anecdotes - like his inability to communicate directly with his Spanish-speaking grandmother - before expanding into broader cultural analysis. This technique creates an accessible entry point for readers into complex literary traditions.

Dark Poetry and Psychological Insight

The "Dark Love Poetry" guide demonstrates de la Guerra's understanding of how poetry serves as both artistic expression and psychological processing. He distinguishes between performative darkness and authentic shadow work, offering readers insight into how true dark poetry transforms private pain into shared understanding.

Throughout this exploration, he connects psychological concepts like attachment theory to poetic expression, showing how disorganized attachment might manifest in certain poetic tendencies, while earned security allows for different forms of creative expression.

Personal Narratives with Universal Appeal

In shorter reflective pieces like "A Ruthless Gangster's Greatest Fear," de la Guerra reveals his ability to find profound meaning in unexpected places. By juxtaposing the vulnerability of a hardened criminal experiencing a crush with his own similar feelings, he creates a meditation on how emotional authenticity connects us across seemingly vast differences.

This approach - finding universal human experiences in specific, often overlooked moments - characterizes much of his work, making even his most personal reflections resonate with readers from diverse backgrounds.

A Multi-Faceted Creative Practice

Beyond his writing, de la Guerra offers resources for fellow poets and writers, including prompt generators and workbooks. His website showcases his parallel visual art practice, including abstract, Japandi, and dark abstract wall art collections.

This integration of visual and literary arts reflects a holistic creative approach, where different expressive forms complement and enhance each other rather than existing in isolation.

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