A Bit Of Poetry, Eh?
I’ve never really liked poetry. Reading or writing it.
I didn’t understand it. It used metaphors for things about life I didn’t understand when I was younger. It used complex rhyme schemes and syllable counts. I understand some of the metaphors now, but still not the schemes and counts.
The poetry I like is the one without those rules. The poetry that is just like writing but sounds a little nicer, a little smoother.
Because the theme of August is learning, and I intend to focus on becoming a better writer, I thought why not write some poems? So here are three poems. They’re all about nature (on the surface). More deeply, one is about judgment. One is about dreams. One is about standing out.
If you read it, and think my poetry sucks, then please tell me. It won’t hurt my feelings, and I won’t stop writing because you say something.
If you think the poetry good, if you resonate with it, then don’t tell me. Instead, share it with a friend you think it might also resonate with. Thanks.
The Barking Dogs
Those nasty, gnarly dogs barking at me
They bark and bark and bark
As if to say,
“Leave!
Go away!
You don’t belong here!”
But how can they bark like that?
We’ve never met, they don’t know me.
They must simply be moron dogs,
Too stupid to realize they should give me a chance
Before they bark obnoxiously like that
Because if only they took the time
to learn about me, my personality and my interests,
I’m sure they would want to be friends,
And we could go on walks together and play fetch,
But they won’t do that
Because they’re moron dogs.
Your Dreams Are Following You
Your dreams are in the clouds
High up above
They float around following you
Waiting for you to notice
They grow heavy with anticipation
Full of hope and ideas to make happen
But when they are neglected
They darken and rumble
Your dreams are in storm clouds now
They need your attention and care
But if you continue to ignore or delay
Then those storm clouds
Will rain down on you
And you will have the choice
You may grab your umbrella or raincoat
Or go inside to avoid the downpour
Or you can embrace the chaos
of your unrelenting dreams
Letting them rain on you,
Soaking your shirt and your soul
Liberating you
To dance and splash in the puddles.
Which choice looks more fun to you?
The Tree That Stands Alone
In a wide-stretching suburban backyard
There was a single tree that stood alone.
Its trunk was rooted far from all the other tree trunks
which settled together in the Northwest corner of the yard.
Yes, life was good for the trees of the Northwest corner.
They had plenty of water, sun, and nutrients from the soil.
They spent their days poking each others’ branches
Making friends with the squirrels and birds
Observing the humans’ weekend cookouts
And gossiping about the tree that stood alone
What they didn’t know was that
Life was also good for the tree that stood alone
Sure, not everything was easy for him.
His soil wasn’t all that rich
And he always got a little bit too much sun
The worst part of it though
Was that he could hear the trees of the Northwest corner speculating about him
They would guess at reasons as to why he stayed in solitude
saying things like:
“He must be boring…that’s why no other trees will grow near him”
“His branches are weirdly shaped too”
“I heard that he’s an orphan…
his parents were used to make a dining room table set.”
Yet none of these were the reasons the tree stood alone
He did it to challenge the status quo
To show that a tree could stand alone in strength and solitude
To show that it could be done
That he didn’t have to live the same life
and do the same things as all the other trees
The trees of the Northwest corner missed this point entirely.
They ridiculed and laughed at him
When they should have been supporting and admiring.
Then, one day, the tree that stood alone got chopped down.
The trees of the Northwest corner were full of glee
At the sight of only his stump remaining, remarking
“Good riddance,” or “sure is a shame.”
What the trees of the Northwest corner didn’t know
Was that the tree that stood alone was okay with being chopped down
For he had already dispersed his seeds
All throughout the neighborhood yards
And those seeds would grow into trees
And those trees wouldn’t grow in a group
Like the trees in the Northwest corner
Rather they would all stand alone
One by one
Challenging the status quo
Together.
Image credit: Blake Verdoorn
Originally published at www.awesomeinitiative.org on August 6, 2015.
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