This Is What You Shall Do by Walt Whitman

This is what you shall do; Love the earth and
sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every
one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy,

devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants,
argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence
toward the people,

take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or
to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful
uneducated persons and with the young and with
the mothers of families,

read these leaves in the open air every season of every
year of your life, re-examine all you have been told
at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever
insults your own soul,

and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the
richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent
lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of
your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.


--------------------------

I absolutely love this. I hope you love it too!

A Poem by Ernest Hemmingway

If there's empty spaces in your heart,
They'll make you think it's wrong.
Like having empty spaces,
Means you can never be strong.
But I've learnt that all these spaces,
Means there's room enough to grow,
And the people that once filled them,
Were always meant to be let go.
And all these empty spaces,
Create a strange sort of pull,
That attract so many people,
You wouldn't meet if they were full.
So if you're made of empty spaces,
Don't ever think it's wrong,
Because maybe they're just empty,
Until the right person comes along.

A Poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my
grave and weep
I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand
winds that blow.
I am the diamond
glints on snow.
I am the sunlight
on the ripened grain.
I am the gentle
autumn rain.
When you waken
in the morning's
hush
I am the swift
uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in
circled flight.
I am the soft stars
that shine at
night.
Do not stand at my
grave and cry;
I am not there.
I did not die.

Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson

I hope that you read this as a poem. Don't sing the song in your head if you know it. It will make all of the difference for you.

Enjoy!

I'm gonna make a change,
For once I'm my life
It's gonna feel real good,
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right

As I, turn up the collar on
My favorite winter coat
This wind is blowing my mind
I see the kids in the streets,
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind?
Pretending not to see their needs

A summer disregard,

a broken bottle top
And a one man soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go

That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home,

not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me,

pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see
'Cause they got no place to be

That's why I'm starting with me

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that
Change!

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
No message could have been any clearer
You can't close your, your mind!

That man, that man, that man, that man
With the man in the mirror
That man, that man, that man,
I'm asking him to change his ways
You know, that man
No message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make the change

I'm gonna make a change
It's gonna feel real good!
Come on!
Just lift yourself
You know
You've got to stop it,
Yourself!

I've got to make that change, today!
You got to
You got to not let yourself
Brother
You know I've got to get
That man, that man
You've got to
You've got to move! Come on!
Come on!
You got to

Stand up! Stand up! Stand up!
Stand up and lift yourself, now!

Gonna make that change

Come on!
You know it!
You know it!
You know it!
You know it

Make that change.

-Okay guys, I know that this is another song, and I am sure you think that is a cop out. But it's not. With this presidential election and all of the different view points that everyone has about how our country should be run.. All I can think of is this song. Everyone could tell that with the two candidates, the country would change. We just need to make sure that the country changes in a way that is beneficial for our children and for our futures. Protesting and damaging other people's property will not make changes to the election results. We need to start with ourselves and on a local leadership level. I don't want to have a political debate on here.. but I felt the need to post this to inspire something positive regarding the election.

Happy Sunday!

These Yet To Be United States by Maya Angelou

                  
Tremors of your network
cause kings to disappear.
Your open mouth in anger
makes nations bow in fear.

Your bombs can change the seasons,
obliterate the spring.
What more do you long for ?
Why are you suffering ?

You control the human lives
in Rome and Timbuktu.
Lonely nomads wandering
owe Telstar to you.

Seas shift at your bidding,
your mushrooms fill the sky.
Why are you unhappy ?
Why do your children cry ?

They kneel alone in terror
with dread in every glance.
Their nights ['rights' ? - Schrift nicht lesbar] are threatened daily
by a grim inheritance.

You dwell in whitened castles
with deep and poisoned moats
and cannot hear the curses
which fill your children's throats.

                                              

With this crazy election coming up, I had to find a poem that was relating to the turmoil in this country. I hope you enjoy your Sunday evening and don't think about the fact that Monday is just around the corner.

Song Sung Blue by Neil Diamond

Song sung blue
Everybody knows one
Song sung blue
Every garden grows one

Me and you are subject to the blues now and then
But when you take the blues and make a song
You sing them out again
Sing them out again

Song sung blue
Weeping like a willow
Song sung blue
Sleeping on my pillow

Funny thing, but you can sing it with a cry in your voice
And before you know, it get to feeling good
You simply got no choice

Me and you are subject to the blues now and then
But when you take the blues and make a song
You sing them out again

Song sung blue
Weeping like a willow
Song sung blue
Sleeping on my pillow

Funny thing, but you can sing it with a cry in your voice
And before you know, it started feeling good
You simply got no choice

Song sung blue
Song sung blue

Yes, music lyrics are often amazing poems! A lot of the time, I love the lyrics of a song more than the actual music. Hope you liked today's poem!

The Beauty and the Beast by T.K.

There's a villain in every story.
The wicked witch of the west,
A wicked witch of the east,
The evil step mother,
A monster, a beast.
What does the villain look like?
Some people may ask.
It doesn't always have a black cape,
Or a witch's broom,
Or a big and scary mask.
I have a villain of my own,
But she's kind of hard to see.
She has a really good disguise-
She looks a lot like me.
Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who's the fairest of them all?
Or maybe it's
Monster monster inside of me,
Tell me tell me what you see.
Rip me apart
Tear me to shreds
Make me a prisoner
Inside my own head
Tell me what I am
And tell me what I'm not.
Tell me what I need
And tell me what I got.
You bring out my scars
My sadness, fears, and aggression.
You cause me a lot of envy
And leave me with depression.
Deprive me of my confidence
Take away my self esteem
Cause me to fear judgment
And make me yell and scream.
You taunt me with your words
Like this is some kind of game.
But when it comes down to it
There's no one else to blame.
This villain isn't a creature.
Or a devil sent from hell.
It isn't a witch or demon,
The villain is myself.
I try to fight it but it won't stop
It's never going to cease.
It's mean. It's a liar.
I'm the beauty and the beast.
There's a villain in every story,
A statement that is true.
But how do you kill the monster,
When it lives inside of you?

-t.k.

A Betrayal by Lang Leav

I cannot undo
          what I have done;
          I can't un-sing
          a song that's sung.

And the saddest thing
          about my regret-

I can't forgive me
          and you can't forget.


I can't just do one tonight! Sorry! But in my defense, this isn't a very long one! But I absolutely love it! It reminds me that our actions are not able to be taken back. Our words, actions, and thoughts are things that we can't always reverse.

A Poem by Erin Hanson

I thought hard about what poem I would start off with, and this poem beat out all of the others.

Let me tell the tale
Of a girl who didn't stop,
Who climbed up every mountain
Without a pause upon the top.
She'd dance until each blade of grass
Was clothed in drops of dew,
And the sun knew her by name
But the silver moon did too.
For a fear had settled in her bones;
A fear of sitting still,
That if you're not moving forward
It must mean you never will.
So in time her dance got slower
And she looked at all she'd seen,
But found gaps inside the places
That she'd never fully been,
For she was a human doing
Human moving, human seeing,
But she'd never taken time
To simply be a human being.

~e.h




I absolutely love this poem. It's too easy to be caught up in the "instagramable" moments in life. We (and I mean I) need to remember that we need to live our lives, not just be living. I really hope that makes sense! Also, if anyone knows the true name of this poem, let me know! I looked on her website and wasn't able to find it. I would love to have the accurate name, but until then.. my title will have to make do.

I hope you have a great rest of the day and take the time to "simply be a human being."

Hello There!

Hi everyone! Hopefully someone out there finds this blog! I am a 20 something year old that absolutely loves the thought of being able to have a place to express any feelings that I may have on the internet. Sharing my thoughts and feelings with perfect strangers. I love being able to find something that we relate over and to be able to become instant friends.

Something that my friends and family don't know about me... is I love poetry. I can't write it to save my life, but I absolutely love reading it! I think that poetry is a dying breed in our day and that it doesn't receive the recognition that it deserves.

So.

Why am I telling you this?

While I will write my own posts on here from time to time, you'll be able to expect to see me post many poems that I find. I won't claim to be the author of any of them. I promise you I cannot write poetry to save my life. I am hoping to be able to post a new one each day, if not, I hope to post four new poems each week.

Also, I would love if any of you would share your favorite poems with me!

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!