PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

We have no control over many things that across this planet have unfurled…but we can control the way we think and act in our little corner of the world.

Here we have some command over the world we’re trying to create…for instance our corner of the world is so small…we have no room for hate.

In our little corner we want every person to know…from wherever they travel…near or far…they will be always be welcomed and accepted here for exactly who they are.

In our little corner of the world love is simple…love is kind…

In fact with kindness and simplicity is how our little corner is designed.

Reading is simple in our little corner…here we read each other’s eyes…it’s where we find our truth…it’s where our happiness lies.

Math is simple in our little corner…our feelings we do not hide…all our sadness is divided…all our joys are multiplied.

I guess what we’re trying to say…what we think it’s our destiny to do…

when you enter our little corner of the world…

is, simply, to put a little love on you.

So no matter what has happened in your past…

no matter how your life has previously unfurled…

we hope you will find peace and love and comfort 

in our little corner of the world.

Some people believe those of us with a bleeding heart can’t possibly be strong…well those of us with a bleeding heart would like them to know they’re wrong.

In the remainder of this poem…if you choose to continue reading…you’ll find a few examples of why our hearts are bleeding.

They bleed for Native Americans, for people of color, for women, for LGTBQ, for immigrants…for all those people who have ever been and continue to be wronged…they bleed for all those who have ever been made to feel inferior…to feel as if they don’t belong.

They bleed for our innocent children who attend school thinking they’ll be safe within its walls…who have been or fear they will be shot while walking down its halls.

They bleed for soldiers in countries whose leaders think the only solution is to fight…and in a world where some of us throw leftover food away…they bleed for those who go to bed hungry every night. 

They bleed for all the homeless people…for all those without healthcare…for anyone in need…they bleed for we the people when our leaders have forgotten how to lead.

And they bleed for the planet we are living on…they bleed because so many don’t seem to care about the damage we’re inflicting to her lands…her seas…her air.

To all my fellow bleeding hearts…let me leave you with this thought…

Is it wrong that our hearts are bleeding…

or is it wrong…

that so many hearts are not?

When I was young I thought the road to love…to kindness…to acceptance and to equality would be an easy road to follow as long as everyone had the same thoughts and feelings as me.

We’d all be kind, loving and generous…all people would be free…if everyone in the world had the same thoughts and feelings as me.

There would be no animosity…no hate…no wars…no prejudice…no bigotry…if everyone in the world had the same thoughts and feelings as me.

Alas! That is not the way it is…not the way I’d hoped it would be…because everyone in the world does not have the same thoughts and feelings as me.

Which means we spend a lot of time angry with one another…angry about the things on which we disagree…because you can’t force me to think like you…and I can’t force you to think like me.

And how ironic that because there is so much on which we disagree…that I would end up hating you…and you end up hating me.

And though it’s true hoping everyone would share my thoughts and feelings was my original intent…sharing thoughts and feeling of hatred was not exactly what I meant.

Instead I’ve come to realize on the road to love, to kindness, to acceptance and equality…there are many paths to cross…and with so many paths…it is easy to get lost.

I’m now resigned to the fact everyone in the world will never have the same thought s and feelings as me….but I still pray that whatever path they choose will lead to love…to kindness..to acceptance and to equality.

Yes, there is now an old realist in me who knows 

everyone will never think and feel like me….

yet…still….

There is also a young dreamer in me who continues to hope

perhaps

someday

they will.

It’s funny…how it works…people walk into the bookstore as strangers…we greet…we talk…I might help them find the book they’re looking for…we talk some more…and in those few brief moments…we’re not strangers anymore.

We begin by talking about books…then move to sharing things about our life…

“Her birthday is next week.” He smiles.  “I’m going to buy this old book for my wife.”

“What a beautiful baby!” I say. “I remember when our children were that small…but it’s been a while…when I wave to the baby and she waves back…everybody smiles.

“Can I bring my dog into the store?”

“Of course…that would be fine.”

Then he tells me a little about his dog…and I tell him things I remember about mine.

And so it goes…one after the other…strangers walk into our store…and once we share what we have in common…we’re not strangers anymore.

Because the more we learn about each other…the more bridges we create…the more there is to love and the less there is to hate.

Which means if we can make strangers into friends…

the less chance there is for danger

because it’s harder to hate a friend…than it is to hate a stranger.

So here’s my vote for viewing the world as one giant expansive bookstore…

where we meet as strangers…

we talk…

we share with one another…

where in a matter of minutes…

we’re not strangers anymore.

One way, I think, to come to a better understanding of our country…of this land…is to take a walk along the beach…and watch people playing in the sand.

With our first steps onto the sand…one simple thought arises…how before us stretch a sea of people in all colors…shapes and sizes.

This alone makes us smile but we are also pleasantly surprised to watch as an entire circle of life plays out before our eyes.

We see lovers holding hands…we pass a wedding…we sneak a peek…we see another couple…she’s pregnant…their baby’s due within the week.

As our walk continues in the cooling breeze of a Florida Autumn…we see a family with a naked baby…the sand is covering his bottom.

We see families with older children…their sounds drowned out by the oceans roar…running…laughing…jumping…playing catch along the shore.

We see older couples, just like us, walking with elegance and grace…It’s hard to find a person on the beach without a smile on their face.

Here’s a little something, I imagine, every seashore has to teach…people playing on the beach have no labels…they’re just people on the beach!

So, if you want to come to a better understanding of this country…of any country…of any land…take a walk along any beach and watch how people share the sand.

Yes, I imagine that’s exactly the message the seashore means to send…

as we share the sand…

the sun…

the sea together…

how easily we blend.

I believe one of the reasons the Creator gave us memories is so…once the movie is our mind is played…we can remember what brought us joy in life…as well as the mistakes we’ve made.

If we use our memory as intended…we will do whatever it takes…to look back on the life we’ve led…and learn from our mistakes.

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day…a day some people would like to hide…a day to remember the Nazi Party and their attempt at Genocide.

A day to remember the millions of victims of the Holocaust’s inhumanity…a day not only to remember the atrocities…but how those atrocities came to be.

The Nazis used propaganda…they spread misinformation…they lied…they used the latest technology to increase fear and prejudice and hate…and millions of people died.

And the world stood by and wondered as the Nazis tried to create…a land of white supremacy…based on vitriol and hate.

Today’s the day to remember…and to try and understand…a time in history when love was forgotten…and hate tried to rule the land.

A day to remember one country’s attempt at Genocide and to do whatever it takes…not to let that ever happen again…and to learn from their mistakes.

But as evidenced by the events of January 6…an insurrection some are already trying to forget…as we remember the Holocaust today…we haven’t learned its lesson yet.

If we do not learn from our mistakes…we will never be the people the Creator intended us to be…as I’m sure Native Americans, people of color, Muslims, the LGBTQ+ community and many more of us...will readily agree.

Have you ever watched an artist paint? The canvas is blank at the start…but, eventually, by deftly adding colors…it becomes a work of art.

The artist begins with a pallet of colors…each color in a separate lake…when that artist takes one color and adds it to another we marvel at the new color those colors make.

And we realize when the painting is completed…something the artist is quick to explain…how there is no way two pieces of art can ever be the same.

Even if the artist tried to recreate that same picture…even if the artist painted slow…when the painting is completed…subtle differences would show.

But that is as it should be…from that blank canvas on which the artist starts…every painting completed is meant to be an original work of art.

I imagine the creator who paints our sky would also be quick to explain this is the reason why no two sunrises or sunsets will ever be the same.

And certainly that’s true…if you’ve ever watched them from the start…each sunrise and each sunset is an original work of art.

I imagine, like the sunrise, each human the artist paints is a blend of colors from the start…each one of us with our own subtle differences…each one of us an original work of art.

I can’t imagine the artist when deciding what colors in humans to create…had any inclination one color would dominate.

But that is what has happened over the years…when we humans view each other certain colors cause a fuss…but that is not the artist’s fault…the blame here lies with us…

And will continue to lie with us…and continue to tear us apart

until we view each other as the artist has intended…

as a beautiful blend of colors…

as original works of art.

We hear this excuse quite a bit lately as we make our daily climb…

I have so much to do…so man responsibilities…I just don’t have the time.

I’m working hard for all the things I want…all the things I need

I don’t have time to exercise

to cook

to eat

I don’t have time to read.

I understand how busy we are in the world we’re trying to create

I only wish we were so busy…we didn’t have time to hate.

How wonderful would it be to hear words the world has never heard before:

I don’t have time for prejudices

I don’t have time for killing

I don’t have time for war.

because I’m too busy enjoying nature

spending time before each day ends

in the bosom of my family

or catching up with friends.

Imagine with me, if you will, a world we can create

where we’re much too busy spreading love

that we don’t have time to hate.

I was brought up believing in the American Dream…that every person in America…everybody…every soul…has the same opportunities to fulfill their hopes and wishes…to achieve their highest goals.

But for women and other Americans with a different color on their face…when it comes to the American Dream…this hasn’t always been the case.

There have been some Americans throughout our history who to other Americans have been more than just unkind…who have forgotten no-one created on this Earth should be enslaved, mistreated or left behind.

Which means the American Dream…the one instilled in us by our fathers and our mothers…

an never be called the American Dream even for some

if it’s been a nightmare for so many others.