poem one

Which Are You?

by Charles Benvegar

I watched them tear a building down;
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a mighty heave and a lusty yell,
They swung a boom and a sidewall fell.

I said to the foreman, “Are these men skilled
As the men you’d hire if you had to build?”
He gave me a laugh and said, “No indeed!
Just a common laborer is all I need.

And I can wreck in a day or two
What it took the builder a year to do.”
And I thought to myself as I went my way,
“Just which of these roles have I tried to play?

Am I a builder who works with care
Measuring life by the rule and square,
Or am I a wrecker as I walk the town
Content with the labor of tearing down?”

This poem spoke to a topic I am very passionate about, where how do we really know who we are? How do we act when no one is around? And how do we accept the fact that there is not much we know about our true selves? This inspired a rant I went on about on my Snapchat story, and if I could insert it here, I would.

poem two 

“I Deserve It.
I’d rather be disappointed by the truth than satisfied with a lie. Respect me, not because I respect you, but because I deserve your respect. How pleased would you be if you found out I respected you only because I wanted you to respect me back or because I wanted something in return? I respect you because you deserve it. Don’t listen to me just because I listen to you. I listen to you because you deserve to be heard. Don’t be nice to me just because I’m nice to you. I’m nice to you because you deserve to be treated right. Don’t show me that you care just because you know I care. I care for you because your heart needs care. If your thoughts and feelings are not genuine, point them in a direction other than mine. If I only give you what you deserve, at least keep me away from what I don’t deserve.”
― Najwa Zebian

This is a poem by the great Najwa Zebian whos writing I look up to every day. Her words in this poem speak to great extents which help me get through tough times because of the truth her words speak. I love this poem because it talks about the idea of self-worth and making sure you never settle for anyone less than what you deserve.

poem three

“Here’s the thing about people with good hearts:

They give you excuses when you don’t explain yourself.
They accept the apologies you don’t give.
They see the best in you.
They always lift you up, even if that means putting their own priorities aside.
They will never be too “busy” for you.
They make time, even when you don’t.

And you wonder why they’re the most sensitive people, the most caring people, why they are willing to give so much of themselves with no expectation in return.
You wonder why their existence is not so essential to your well-being. It’s because they don’t make you work hard for the attention they give you. They accept the love they think they deserve
– and you accepted the love you think you’re entitled to.
Don’t take them for granted.
Fear the day when a good heart gives up on you.
Our skies don’t become grey out of nowhere, our sunshine does not allow the darkness to take over for no reason.

A heart does turn cold unless it’s been treated with coldness for a while”
― Najwa Zebian

Another amazing poem by Najwa. This one follows the theme of the second poem but the way this one is structured just makes it that much more powerful because the beginning starts off describing how people with good hearts are, and how that positive energy they have turns into negativity because of the person they are being postive with. (I hope that makes sense). Then the end of the poem talks about all the cons of being a good person. I like how she started off with what is good and then moves to the negative because things always tend to lead to negativity.
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poem four

“Take responsibility.
Just as you can’t deny that you can feel love and hate, happiness and sadness, anger and ease of mind, or tiredness and relaxation, you can’t deny that you have a fate that, sometimes, you can’t control. That doesn’t mean that it takes control over you. You can’t deny that you have words that need to be spoken. You can’t deny that you have a choice. You can’t deny the ability that you can say no. You can’t deny the ability that you have the freedom to make a decision and defend it. You can’t deny injustice when you see it, unfairness when you feel it, oppression when you witness it. Stop blaming the world around you for wronging you. Take responsibility for the nos you could have said but chose not to, the words you could have said but didn’t, instead of wrapping your mouth with your own hands and remaining silent against what needed to be addressed. Take responsibility for the choices you could have made but restrained yourself from making.”
― Najwa Zebian, Mind Platter

This poem is very powerful because pf the repetition she used in the phrase “you can’t deny…” I always find that any repetition just works at getting a message across because the writers want to make sure the reader understands what they are reading and what they are supposed to take from it.

poem five

I’d Rather Be…

by Page Belnap

I’d rather be the ship that sails
and rides the billows wild and free;
Than be the ship that always fails
to leave its port and go to sea.

I’d rather feel the sting of strife,
where gales are born and tempests roar;
Than settle down to a useless life
and rot in dry dock on the shore.

I’d rather fight some mighty wave
with honor in supreme command;
And fill a last well-earned grave,
than die at ease upon the sand.

I’d rather drive where storm winds blow
and be the ship that always failed
To make the ports where it would go,
than be the ship that never sails.

This poem also speaks to the theme I appreciate a lot about how it is crucial for people to realize and acknowledge their self-worth. I love the parallelism in this of how every stanza is “I’d rather… than…” This definitely gets the message across through the metaphors he used but I also think even the words “I’d rather… than…” have a lot of meaning in themselves.

poem six

The Invitation

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments

This is a longer poem that has all the topics that make me content when people talk about them. I like the inspirational aspect of this poem and it appears to me that this could easily be presented as a spoken word on reminding people they are worth more than they realize and that they do not need others to make them happy.

poem seven 

What Life Should Be

By: Pat A. Fleming

To learn while still a child
What this life is meant to be.
To know it goes beyond myself,
It’s so much more than me.

To overcome the tragedies,
To survive the hardest times.
To face those moments filled with pain,
And still manage to be kind.

To fight for those who can’t themselves,
To always share my light.
With those who wander in the dark,
To love with all my might.

To still stand up with courage,
Though standing on my own.
To still get up and face each day,
Even when I feel alone.

To try to understand the ones
That no one cares to know.
And make them feel some value
When the world has let them go.

To be an anchor, strong and true,
That person is loyal to the end.
To be a constant source of hope
To my family and my friends.

To live a life of decency,
To share my heart and soul.
To always say I’m sorry
When I’ve harmed both friend and foe.

To be proud of whom I’ve tried to be,
And this life I chose to live.
To make the most of every day
By giving all I have to give.

To me, that’s what this life should be,
To me, that’s what it’s for.
To take what God has given me
And make it so much more

To live a life that matters,
To be someone of great worth.
To love and be loved in return
And make my mark on Earth.

This poem is actually written by someone of older age, and that made me appreciate this even more because it was written by someone with experience beyond what I have. This poem could be therapeutic to some people int hat it is what they need to hear on their journey to self-healing.

poem eight 

“See yourself through the eyes of those who love you. They see all of the goodness in you when you fail to see it. They see the best in you when you see the worst. They are always ready to lift you up even before you fall down. They see every reason why you deserve happiness, love, and joy when you may feel that you’re the furthest thing from deserving all of that goodness. Learn to care about those who care about you before you try to make those who don’t even notice you turn your way. If you can’t see happiness in what you already have, you’re fooling yourself if you think that getting what you want will make you happy. If you can’t see happiness in the simplest of things, you won’t be able to see happiness in what’s bigger. If you can’t see the beauty of the stars, you may never appreciate the beauty of the moon.”
― Najwa Zebian, Mind Platter

This poem is yet again by Najwa and follows the “accept who you are” pattern of the poems I’ve chosen. the parallelism in the choice of words is what I found made this poem effective in getting across the message she wanted. Something different about this is how she is talking about seeing yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you, not someone who doesn’t value you or care about you because that is when you begin to feel sorry for yourself. She is reminding her readers that there are people who love and care about you and that you have to accept yourself and accept what you have been blessed with.

poem nine

“You may be a disaster for a day, a month, or a year. Just don’t be a disaster forever.”
― Najwa Zebian, The Nectar of Pain

What I like about this poem is that it is short and sweet and carries a lot of meaning behind it. She is reminding her reader that pain is okay. That pain should be accepted, and that things will go wrong, and she’s leaving it to you to remember that this pain and suffering is not meant to last forever. It reminds me of one of her Instagram posts where she used tea as a metaphor for suffering. You should welcome pain as a guest to not be rude, and then have a cup of tea with it and then remind it not to overstay its welcome. I love this metaphor and it is something I have introduced to myself as a way of coping with the hard times.

poem ten 

 CINDY WILLIAMS GUTIÉRREZ “THE SMALL CLAIM OF BONES”

what my body knows
is not a lie it’s not
a lie i tell you it is not
it’s nothing short of truth
and nothing larger
my past lodges
in my marrow and if
i wanted a transplant
there’d be no match
others’ sorrows dwarf
my petty traumas still
these bones are mine
when they creak
when they moan
when they whine
there’s only one thing
i can claim these bones
are mine i tell you
they are mine and kind
to abandon nothing
that makes this pulse
no one but me

This poem is very interesting to me because when I first read it, it didn’t make sense but then I read it a couple times again and I still don’t fully get it. Like I understand the concept but I want to understand the meaning behind it, but I just can’t wrap my head around it which is driving me crazy.  I decided to add it to my anthology to add some diversities and also get some other opinions on what its deeper meaning could be.

poem eleven 

The extra poem I want to add to my anthology is dedicated to Alyna because she is such an amazing writer who I look up to and appreciate beyond words. Her writing speaks on such high levels and her style of writing makes everything that much better. Alyna, when you see this, just know how much you mean to me and that your blog and poetry is definitely something I am always going to look forward to because you’re so amazing at writing, and its such a gift that you have, my love. This is the poem I chose to add to my anthology because of its unique structure and its meaning.

a storm

 

 

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