I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: sharing poetry is similar to walking around naked. You truly do bare your soul when you share your thoughts.
Poetry allows writers to release feelings that may have been kept inside for too long, and it’s a way to let these feelings go into the universe so you don’t have to hold on to them any longer. It’s quite freeing, actually. Writing poetry has incredible power to make you feel better. And let’s agree–not all poetry comes from us at a time when we are feeling angry, alone, bitter, frustrated, heartbroken, or misunderstood; it can come from us when we feel joyous, enraptured, or euphoric, too.
But alas, today’s poem is snide, I’m afraid. It’s reflective and tastes of bitterness. And ultimately, it’s about people who judge you, even when they don’t walk in your shoes.
What the hell…it goes with the new feel of the blog. Let it rip.
xx
THE BEST ADVICE YOU EVER GOT
The best advice you ever got—
And over the years you’ve heard a lot—
Didn’t come in the way of a bang and pop!
Didn’t come among a fertile crop.
It didn’t call out in the dead of night
When creepy crawlers come out to bite.
It wasn’t seen among the stars—
The moon, Jupiter or dusty Mars.
It didn’t have legs and walk away,
It stayed to face interminable days.
It helped you survive the bleakest of clouds,
When you wanted to scream, but then said aloud,
That what you’ve lost wasn’t meant to be,
In pain, you cry, the dichotomy.
One side, a coin; do not to toss aside,
The other, a symbol, shouts run and hide.
The best advice you ever got—
As it quietly emerged from beneath the rot,
And from disappointing people who vanish a lot,
Who dare to aim, but miss the shot—
Was to heed your heart, for it’s the glue,
What others believe may not be true.
What others say, you pay no mind,
Some things are better left behind.
—© Stephanie Verni, Poetry
Stephanie
Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.