Category Archives: Poems

A series of original poems.

Empathy: The Mother of Understanding Another

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Understanding is the hardest part
Taking what we “know best” and ripping it apart
Forgetting what we’ve been taught
A new perspective to be sought

So easy to interject, and tune out
So easy to look away, and get loud
A habit that denies ourselves and each other
Of the harsh realities that we suffer

I promise it’s worth the bloody tongue
An attempt at patience and an open ear
Detaching ourselves from any previous association
Like a human journal that also intensifies discussion

Let’s learn to accept the harshness and grow
Understanding that it’s okay to hurt, it’s okay to cry
It’s okay to aspire, it’s okay to thrive
Human happens, and it’s alright
As long as empathy and truth direct our sight

I want to know what it feels like to live in your skin
Beyond my decision is the body I reside in
So what gives me the right to think I am greater?
To stomp on your dreams, or to think I am lesser?

See, I often grapple with both myself and external judges
Every day these weights of superficial smudges
But then I remember that it is alright and in our nature
To be a little selfish, self-conscious, and immature

And since understanding is a whole new world
On the flying carpet of empathy let the truth be told
It’s a fact we do struggle with self-inhibiting tendency
And that’s why genuine discourse is the most precious remedy

Mentality

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What are 5 adjectives you think of when you first see yourself in the mirror? What are 5 adjectives you think of when describing your personality and character?
(Answer the first 2 questions before moving on)

Do any of the 10 adjectives you listed have a negative connotation? Why or why not?

Through deep reflection and recent confrontation, I have come to find that self-doubt, a “not good enough” mentality, and a deficit view of ourselves serve as severe insecurity boosters that can arrest our adolescent spirits, causing us to hold back, feel confused or unworthy, and prevent us from wholeheartedly being our greatest selves. In order to break the old habits, though, I find it necessary to start by being completely honest with ourselves, by learning how to trust our primary thoughts & inclinations, and by sharing those deep internal challenges or struggles with someone other than just ourselves.

On a personal level: We can begin to ask questions such as,
“Who am I? Is there anything holding me back from being who I truly am or strive to be? What and/or Why/why not?
(If applicable) Do I ever feel unworthy or “lesser”? Why/why not? Am I great? Why/whynot?
What were to happen if I were to fail? How would I respond? If I fall down…does it even matter? Do I care what others will think?
Am I in charge of my own character and life direction? How can I assure that I will always be in charge?”

Beyond the self: This past week, a good friend allowed me to confess my previously avoided insecurities. It was a friend who listened and allowed me to honestly speak, and a friend who confronted me stating, “It hurts to know that you are so incredibly hard on yourself…that you dwell on what is lacking, and not on what is illuminating in your spirit.” Right then, I understood the root of my disheartening condition, and I recognized the beauty of true friendship; understanding, listening, and growing from the subconscious consent of mutual vulnerability. A friend to hear us out, to challenge negativity…may be what it takes to change the mentality…and set us free:

Mentality
These mental games we play
If we’re not careful, can get in the way
Of what makes us who we are;
Those smiles that shine brighter than the stars
Are too precious
To let the shadow of doubt or the clouds of regret
Hover over our conscience
Eager jaws upset
That the ominous forecast
Prevented pure thought
Prevented pure words
Unshackled freedom they sought

But freedom can’t occur unless our neurons see light
The deficit storms overpowered by the bright,
Radiant rays of the most critical honesty
That recognize and address
Our own insecurity
Time to share and breakdown, letting rainstorms pour out
Tears of revealed revelation, so personally paramount
The games are over, because we’re no longer alone
No longer hiding ourselves, from the empathetic sun

Freedom, it feels
Like life is delicious
Looking at the beauty, ignoring all ill wishes
Because what matters most is our greater vision
Knowing that we make the rules
As the founders of our life’s mission

In the Bliss

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To recognizing the moments that give us happiness…Enjoying the company of others, and never allowing these moments to slip from our daily grip.

In the Bliss
It’s fair to say
That on any given day
Time will pass
Moments will last
But you’ll know when
THAT FEELING kicks in
Where nothing else matters
But the laughter and honest chatter

The time that’s passed
Tomorrow’s shadow cast
The location we’re in
Or obligations to tend
Mean nothing at all
For this moment
Is too important

It will last forever
And so we all wish
Ultimately happy
In the Bliss

The Brain = Our World, The World = Our Brains

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We’ve got to fight for the right to understand
Who we are and what truly matters…
What we believe and How to express it,
What we think and How to say it,
Who we love and How to show it,
What we dream and How to create it;
Why we live, love, laugh, and cry
Why we sing, dance, scream, and die

If we just take the time to sit and ponder
More sense will be made
Out of the worlds we now wander
Our brains and this globe so complexly designed
So easy to get lost in this short span of time
The key–to always keep true to the heart;
The brain will process, the body may act.
It’s important to act, though,
For we can never turn back
And what we do can make change
And what we say and create will make that change;
From our thoughts and ideas all stored in our brains

So it’s important to think, and more important to act
We feel so much, but lose meaning on the tracks
Not defined by ourselves, but by other’s great minds
You’ve got one too, so don’t you leave yours behind

Labels

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Put a label on something, and you’ll know exactly what to expect inside and exactly what should comprise the entity it describes. Unfortunately, we get into this habit of label-ization with people each and every day…but why? Humans are too complex and too unique to be packaged together into restrictive sectors of our social society…and although it may seem that we are generalizing based on say physical truths, political ideals, or religious beliefs…all that genuinely matters is how we interact, learn from, share and collaborate with each other. Nature and materials aside, we’re all we’ve got…not matter what part of the globe we come from…no matter what we look like. The day we come to realize that we are all simply human, we are all individual, and respecting that we are all subject to our own opinions…is the day invalid assumptions, underestimating negativity, and intrapersonal injustice will cease to exist

Labels
The labels of our world
Overcome every inch of our innocent bodies
I got a sticker for everything I represent…
No, for everything they think I represent
STAMP- Hispanic, Smart, Liberal, Jesus Freak
STAMP- Short, Hairy, Nerdy, Physically Weak
Accumulating
Until the soul has no painless means of unraveling from
This stereotypical tangle
We “fit in”…
Only because they say so

Slowly unpeeling these adhesive generalizations
You will find
The one that speaks to all faces and nations
HUMAN
That permanent tattoo ingrained under the surface
HUMAN
The one incapable of tearing us apart
From the concrete reality
Of what it means to be
HUMAN

See, each and every one of us-Feels, Breathes, Lives
In this same world
Born, raised, and deceased
Through similar fleshy mediums
We are simply
HUMAN
Not confined by titles
But ideally by the words that flow from our throats
What we do and what we create
What we value, believe, and advocate

Just know you can escape, though,
From this jungle of assumptions
Because when the panthers, the cheetahs, and jaguars conspire
They attack with no meaning because you’re what they desire
A young soul to chew up…all due to these labels
You’re now the target, and so willing to accept it
Yet all of these attacks, no matter what has been deemed
Mean nothing at all
For it’s your own self esteem
That defines
Who you are and
What you will do
In this life…
Your ambition
Your own inner truth

Touch

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We all have so much influence, so much passion…
How can we use our words to embrace the world,
and our hands to make dreams realities?

Touch
We touch souls with our voice, silent actions, hands and lips
It’s how we survive.
For good or for bad, what we say and do to one another…is touch
What we think and feel inside is just zip-locked
Until we unfasten those infamous pink and blue clasps with
Our touch

Sticks and stones will hurt, but we often underestimate the power of our words
Words that gave the command to drop that bomb or commence that war
They touch
The words that suppress the dreamers, confuse the believers
But all is not lost

Luckily we have a simple solution…that is, those sticks and stones,
And even those words
Instead of hurling or wounding–build, instead of cursing and killing–inspire
I don’t know you, but I love you…is it really that hard,
To use touch
To love?

Feel
Our pulses combine
Like a seed planted into the earth, my life now planted into yours
Even if no words are spoken, the power of your presence
Your touch…is enough for me to know that I belong in this world

So embrace what you love and never let go
For what you touch will be golden, not rotten or frozen
The world needs your hand to hold, your voice to encourage the child who
Has almost given up
Your touch…is enough to save