PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

May we be blessed to know

how important it is 

to learn as much about each other as we can

to try to get to know and understand

every child, every woman…every man.

Because where there is knowledge and understanding

It is easier to be compassionate and kind…

But where there is ignorance we often find

Fear, prejudice and hatred are not very far behind.

I should begin by saying there are many things in life I do not understand…

so many things under the sun…

Today, however, because of what I see happening around me

I’m concentrating on just one.

The moment we learn we will be be parents…as partners as husband and wife…

we feel blessed to have been chosen…to be the ones creating a life.

And for 9 months we do our best

to keep our baby safe, healthy and happy

Before they become part of this world and enter our family.

For all those months we spend celebrating little milestones

excitedly welcoming each day

without ever thinking about the color of our baby’s skin

If they will be bi, transgender, straight…or gay

We are wishing…praying…for a baby with all their body parts

that they are breathing on their own…and come to us with healthy hearts. 

And we rejoice when they finally arrive

It’s hard to express the joy we feel that day…

Without ever giving a thought to the color of their skin

if they are bi, transgender, straight…or gay

As they grow we care that they are close to us…

that in their lives…we play a part….

that they have gentle souls and spirits… and kindness in their hearts.

Now here’s where we get to the part I find difficult to understand…

when I see prejudice toward LGBTQ+ people…spreading out across the land…

To all you parents who cared only that your children were healthy and happy…

when they first came your way…

who didn’t give a thought to the color of their skin

if they were bi, transgender, straight or gay….

That same child you created…why would you now disavow….

If you didn’t care about this when they were born…

please tell me…why do you care now?

Today I’m grateful for compassion

If you think you cannot change the world..

you’re wrong…

you have a choice….

as long as you remember…. 

how oftentimes change begins 

with one compassionate voice

Today I’m channeling on of my favorite Bob Dylan songs to help me with my poem.

SHELTER FROM THE STORM

A storm has raged across this country since its inception…

swirling clouds of greed and prejudice and hate.

And as long as this storm continues…our country never will be great!

To those who have been and still feel oppressed, hopeless and forlorn…

I offer up my house to give you shelter from the storm.

To the indigenous people whose initial kindness 

we repaid with savagery and scorn…

Come in, I say, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.

To anyone whose skin color we make feel like a crown of thorns…

Come in, I say, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.

To all of you who know what gender you truly are

inside the body to which you were born…

Come in, I say, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.

To those who choose to pray and love Gods of all different forms…

Come in, I say, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.

To those who choose to love each other

whose love is met with ridicule and scorn…

Come in, I say, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.

And to all of you with a disability…know this…

we all deviate a little from the norm…

Come in, I say, I’ll give you shelter from the storm.

Even though this storm has been raging for 240 years or more…

today it seems much stronger and more destructive than before.

So now more than ever we need more people

To offer a place to keep each other protected, safe and warm….

Now more than ever we need more people to say…

Come in my friends and I will give you…shelter from the storm.

Dear Humans,

This is a note from all the Gods…

(that is to whomever God you’re praying to)

If we can show compassion and acceptance for everyone we created…

we’re wondering…

why can’t you.

Love,

Your God

 We’ve seen time and time again the horrible consequences

when Mother Nature turns her wrath upon our nation….

Like when the high tides, the winds and the rains of Hurricane Helene

left in her wake a path of devastation.

For a while every day the reality was right before our eyes

In the headlines of our newspapers, on the internet…streaming on TV.

We saw it on anguished faces, in swollen rivers, with every fallen tree…

Immediately after the hurricane as I walked my normal beat

I saw entire contents of house after house…piled near the street.

Walking among the ruins…it was difficult to avoid

the sorrow I felt for all the lives uprooted…all the memories destroyed.

It’s been seven weeks now…the debris has been removed 

Hurricane Helene no longer poses an immediate threat

and since I was basically unaffected…it becomes easier for me to forget.

To forget even though the winds have subsided and the water is no longer flowing

for those who were directly effected by the hurricane..the suffering is ongoing.

For those of us not directly in her path…with our life no longer on hold…

we begin to think of other things…as new headlines replace the old.

So today…a little reminder…to keep in our hearts, our souls…our minds

those who have been unable to move on…

who have not left their suffering behind.

Oh, isn't it sad, this tale we weave,

Of a heart so giving, yet too bereaved?

Her laughter, a melody, sweet and pure,

A balm for others, their pain's cure.

Her hands, like lanterns, dispelling the dark,

Her smile igniting the faintest spark.

In every soul, she planted delight,

Yet none looked deeper, beyond the light.

She carried the weight of their secret fears,

Wiping their sorrows, drying their tears.

But oh, the silence when night would fall,

Echoing questions, unanswered call.

Isn't it tragic, the giver's plight?

To brighten the world, yet lose her light?

Her joy, a facade, a painted face,

While her heart longed for its own embrace.

Who stopped to wonder, who dared to see,

The woman behind the mystery?

For giving all, she forgot to keep

The dreams that stirred in her soul's deep.

So here's the lesson, a whisper, a plea:

See the unseen, let hearts roam free.

Ask the question, break the chain,

For the giver too feels joy and pain.

Oh, isn't it sad, and isn't it true?

Her light burned bright, but she needed it too.