This poem is not targeted at anyone in particular, but rather it was born from pent up frustration at the way my craft and my passion for poetry is perceived. You may not like poetry, and I appreciate that. It is not a genre for everybody. You may not understand the words I write, or relate to the things I write about. That's cool. Not everybody gets it. You may not like me, and I appreciate that too.
Read the poem. I will take the knife out, and carry on. And maybe someday my words will mean something to you, and you will understand.
Rod E. Kok
May, 2014
Do you even realize
what damage was done
when you spoke?
Is there understanding
that your words
caused pain?
Under a guise of humor
I was brought
to my knees.
Will you go on forever
not knowing what you
accomplished?
Or do you secretly gloat
over the knife that found
its mark.
I consider you
a friend, but as I pull the blade
out of my soul,
I have one hope...
That you are
oblivious.
Outstanding words. Can be applied to so many life circumstances, yours was poetry. For others is may be a daily experience. Well expressed Rod.
ReplyDeleteDutch has a beautiful expression my mom passed on to us:'het is een van de onmogelijkste zaken om het iedereen altijd naar de zin te maken'
ReplyDeleteI probably butchered it with broken dutch, but the gist of it is "It is one of the most impossible things to please everyone, all the time! Have thoroughly enjoyed your writings. Soldier on!
James 3:5 never dies!
I think this is universal at some point for all. Least for me. Tell me you support me in my craft of writing, yet offer nothing but criticism, not constructive, and refuse to attend any award I might garner.
ReplyDeleteYou've done well with your poem Rod.
I agree with the comments above: well done for speaking up, speaking your truth. It is indeed possible to do it in other ares than poetry. And your poetry is very good.
ReplyDeleteSo take the knife out. Keeping it in only works to let the attacker believe they have the upperhand (at least when said attacker was fully conscious of what they were doing). Keeping the hurt only hurts *you* in the end, whether they were oblivious or did it consciously. If it was done in an oblivious way, they probably don't even realise they hurt you. If it was conscious, their whole point was to hurt you, so keeping the hurt is letting them win.