Tag Archives: Poetry

Quote

When The Going Gets Tough
by Katrina Kenison

When the going gets tough may I resist my first impulse to wade in, fix, explain, resolve, and restore.

May I sit down instead.

When the going gets tough may I be quiet.

May I steep for a while in stillness.

When the going gets tough may I have faith that things are unfolding as they are meant to.

May I remember that my life is what it is, not what I ask for.

May I find the strength to bear it, the grace to accept it, the faith to embrace it.

When the going gets tough may I practice with what I’m given, rather than wish for something else.

When the going gets tough may I assume nothing.

May I not take it personally.

May I opt for trust over doubt, compassion over suspicion, vulnerability over vengeance.

When the going gets tough may I open my heart before I open my mouth.

When the going gets tough may I be the first to apologize.

May I leave it at that.

May I bend with all my being toward forgiveness.

When the going gets tough may I look for a door to step through rather than a wall to hide behind.

When the going gets tough may I turn my gaze up to the sky above my head, rather than down to the mess at my feet.

May I count my blessings.

When the going gets tough may I pause, reach out a hand, and make the way easier for someone else.

When the going gets tough may I remember that I’m not alone.

May I be kind.

When the going gets tough may I choose love over fear. Every time.

Inspirations

Changing Our World For The Better

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Hullo!! I read this article not too long ago and it was just so moving and inspirational that I had to share it with all of you. Feel free to click the link, but I’ll pretty much paste everything worth reading below.

A boy named Derek Nichols decided to post a poem written by his younger brother, Jordan, an 8th grader who seems to be wise beyond his years. Obviously he is not the first to use this style of poetry, but it’s just so relevant. Genius.

Here’s the transcript of the poem:

Our generation will be known for nothing.
Never will anybody say,
We were the peak of mankind.
That is wrong, the truth is
Our generation was a failure.
Thinking that
We actually succeeded
Is a waste. And we know
Living only for money and power
Is the way to go.
Being loving, respectful, and kind
Is a dumb thing to do.
Forgetting about that time,
Will not be easy, but we will try.
Changing our world for the better
Is something we never did.
Giving up
Was how we handled our problems.
Working hard
Was a joke.
We knew that
People thought we couldn’t come back
That might be true,
Unless we turn things around

OK! Now, read the poem from bottom to top. Here’s what it says:

Unless we turn things around
That might be true,
People thought we couldn’t come back
We knew that
Was a joke.
Working hard
Was how we handled our problems.
Giving up
Is something we never did.
Changing our world for the better
Will not be easy, but we will try.
Forgetting about that time,
Is a dumb thing to do.
Being loving, respectful, and kind
Is the way to go.
Living only for money and power
Is a waste. And we know
We actually succeeded
Thinking that
Our generation was a failure.
That is wrong, the truth is
We were the peak of mankind.
Never will anybody say,
Our generation will be known for nothing.

Isn’t that amazing?! For an eighth grader too, jeezum crow. I have to say, there are so many times where I begin to lose faith in humanity – people are just unnecessarily cruel to one another so often, and I don’t understand why. Then, there is the side of humanity that is heartless to Mother Earth, which breaks my heart just the same.

Why can’t we all get along? Why can’t we give back to our planet? Why can’t we save animals for future generations to enjoy in the wild instead of killing them for pleasure and “necessity”? Then, someone like Jordan, who is young and malleable, comes up with this, and my faith is mildly restored.

Come of people, let’s start a revolution. Baby steps are still movements in the right direction!!

Ways To Be GreenThese are stamps. They are awesome. Each individual stamp has a different way to Go Green and reduce your environmental footprint. I realize they may be a bit difficult to read, so I wrote them down for your convenience.

Reduce Your Environmental Footprint By:
– Buy local produce
– Reuse shopping bags
– Fix water leaks
– Choose to walk
– Recycle more
– Use public transportation
– Ride a bike
– Use efficient light bulbs
– Share rides
– Compost
– Plant trees
– Adjust the thermostat
– Turn off lights not in use
– Let nature do the work (like line drying your clothing)
– Maintain tire pressure
– Insulate your home

Please, please try and do these as often as possible!! You’re helping yourself, your pocket and our planet that gives us so much, every day. Peace and love my dears.

Aside

I’m not very good at poetry; I kind of detest the structure and form that comes with the territory. I don’t know though, for some reason I had an urge to spit out some poetry – my emotions are coiled pretty tight for some reason – so that’s what I’m going to do. It’s not happy (but c’mon, what poetry is?), so don’t expect rainbows and butterflies. I’m sure everyone can relate, though (unless you’re Mother Theresa), so read it for what it’s worth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’re the one with all the muscle, why am I pulling all this weight?
I’m starting to feel overwhelmed with the dirty emotion of hate

It builds and I suppress it
It boils and I douse it
It lurks and creeps in corners
So I lock it in the closet
But for how long will it stay dormant?
Forever? For the moment?

The feeling drives me crazy
I want it gone; I want it out
No one benefits
No one wins
I hate hate, beyond the shadow of a doubt

A deadly fire blazing within
Igniting my heart and soul
Burning, destroying
Flames consuming who I am

Watery tears can’t calm it
Cutting off oxygen only makes it worse

Things that would eradicate a fire
Only fuel hatred
Why?
How does one overcome an intangible thing?

If I talk, will you listen –
Even if it’s what you don’t want to hear?

Words, words, words
Eventually they stack so high
Becoming meaningless
An avalanche, a lie

Whispers morph into screams
Spewing venom that I don’t mean
Twisting up my tongue;
A deadly snake
Is this what it feels like to be young?

But we aren’t.

Gone are the days of pasta necklaces
When we could color the sky green and the grass blue
Where boo-boos were cured with a kiss and ‘I love you’

We traded in our Pokemon cards for plastic credit
Our crayons for a keyboard
Suddenly, we can’t fit through our playhouse door
But somehow, the world doesn’t seem so daunting anymore

Life is just a giant balancing act
A giant see-saw for adults
It gives you shit, it gives you warmth
You learn from love and grow from hate

Such Is Life: Some Poetry Pour Toi