A poem(?) written during a case of insomnia.
The World Is Broken And So Am I
. . .
The world is broken and so am I.
Waking up, I stumble from the bed –
feet cracking, burning, aching
for no apparent reason,
While others’ feet are numb from
marching in protest, standing firm
in conviction, unwavering in form.
The world is broken and so am I.
I put on my shoes and my foot goes through
while others wear out their boots
walking the beat on the thin blue line
protecting those who would protest them
doing their duty to protect and serve
despite the hate and vitriol in the media.
The world is broken and so am I.
I sneeze and spit out chunks of tooth and blood
while others struggle to breathe, to live
to convince us that their lives matter
and should not end in a parked car or dark street
broadcast live for the world to see
the subject of a viral stream.
The world is broken and so am I.
I stare into the abyss of hate online
and it gazes back at me, transforming me
into a facsimile of itself, exchanging love
and trust and acceptance with hate
and paranoia and intolerance. Do unto
others before they do unto you.
The world is broken and so am I.
Awakened in the early morning hours
by a nightmare of my best friend’s death –
a LEO with a mixed race family – I know
he fine but others walk a nightmare they
will never wake from and would never wish
upon their worst enemy. Well, most won’t.
The world is broken and so am I.
At 1:30 in the morning my media is silent,
the world asleep, and I find Amanda Palmer reading
Goodnight Moon. “The world is scary but it will get better;
we have each other and ‘Goodnight Moon.’
Goodnight. Goodnight. Goodnight.
No, you hang up. No, you hang up.”
The world is broken and so am I,
yet somehow these words have brought me hope
and I tweet my thanks to this artist who
doesn’t know me from Adam. “Goodnight Jay”
she says, and the tears I’ve held in all day
fall as I realize someone out there cares
in some small way.
The world is broken and so am I,
but tomorrow is another day –
another day to do things right,
to make a change in someone’s life,
to laugh and love and learn and grow,
to share a pain I do not know
and cannot understand.
The world is broken and so am I,
but what we are is not what we will be.
. . .
Featured Image from Opinionated Veracity
Jay, that is a very powerful and moving piece. Very reflective of the mood of many of us.
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Goodness! That was quite powerful. I’m not normally s poetry fan, but I liked this. Your brain must be working overtime to write something that good at that time in the morning!
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Your words speak to unexpressed pain within my heart and gut. You have captured the present angst powerfully, beautifully and humanly. Thanks.
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