Jealous Footprints

Mary Stevenson writes a poem that always strikes me as deep.  I always try to write deeply.  Fail.  I can really never write uplifting things, and this poem, entitled 'Footprints in the Sand' is a very uplifting poem.

In one line, she demands "Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"  All of us feel lonely at some point in our lives.  We feel friendless, we feel dumb, we feel hopeless, we feel isolated.  We have all had depression issues.  We have all felt as though no one else in the world was alone.

Yet, the response to her demand is this: "The times you have only seen one set of footprints, is when I carried you."  We are not alone.  Ever.  There is someone who has felt the way you do.  There is someone on the Earth who would listen to your troubles.  They would comfort you.  They would lift you up.  They would there is someone who would befriend you.

I wish it was me.  I am not the kindest or wisest, but I try to comfort you.  Not only me, but many other people.  Many people love you.  It sounds creepy, but we are friends.  I don't have to know you to help you.  I don't have to know you to comfort you.

When you are feeling alone, find someone else who is and befriend them.  It will make you feel better.  I promise.

http://www.footprints-inthe-sand.com/index.php?page=Poem/Poem.php

Punch the Voice!

This is for the Dragon Ball fans.  Voices say it sucks.  Punch the voice!
This is for the kids who sit at the front of their classes because they want to learn.  This is for the girls wearing glasses who watch anime.  This is for anyone who has experienced a broken heart.  This is for the friends of the friendless.  Punch the voice!

Everything we try to do has resistance.  Most of the time, this is the voice of our peers.  They mock us, the belittle us, they haunt us with the voices.  So I say punch the voice.  Kick it out of your head.  Kick the winning field goal with a rude comment from your head.  Crush the opposition that resounds in your head.  Crush it and enjoy the Opposition juice that flows from it.  Punch the voice that says you can't.  Smash its mouth.

This is for those who raise up a torch to light the way for others.  This is for the boys in French 4.  This is for those who want to be classy.  This is for the girl who won't ask that guy on a date because she's too afraid he'll say no.  This is for the boy who is too afraid to ask that one girl on a date for fear she'll laugh.

Punch the voice.

Bring it to it's knees.  Make it regret telling you what you can or can't do.  Show no mercy.  Punish it for the pain it causes you.

This is for the black boys and girls who have parents or grandparents who experienced the worst age in United States history.  This is for those who are ignored, or have been ignored.  This is for those who sit alone at lunch.  This is for the skinny boys.

Punch the voice.  Win the UFC Championship with your knockout punch.  Send the voice spiralling into the farthest reaches of the dark universe of your head to be swallowed by a black hole.

This is for the hairy, drunk men who have had a wife leave them.  This is for the pimply teenagers.  This is for the Harry Potter fans who cosplay and think that magic is real.  This is for those who can't get jobs.  This is for the crack fiends, the alchoholics, and the chain smokers.

Punch the voice.

This is for the homeless.  PUNCH the vOiCe.

This is for the veterans.  PUNCH the VoIcE.

This is the one who just has themself.  pUnCh ThE vOiCe!

PUNCH THE VOICE!

Tobais: The Sordid Tale

I keep forgetting.  I keep forgetting that I have bad self esteem.  I go around, thinking life
is grand, when I suddenly do something out of the ordinary.  As soon as it happens, a little
voice in my head tells me some earth-shaking, shocking thing.  It reminds me of what I keep
forgetting.

I keep forgetting.  I keep forgetting girls think I'm creepy.  I talk, and have been told my
normal way of speaking is flirting.  I'm self conscious.  The girl thinks I'm forward.  She
senses danger.  She backs off. She tries to do it as kindly as possible, but I can't understand.
I can't take a hint.  I'm stupid.  I'm oblivious.  She has to tell me again to leave her alone, but
I still have no idea why she is acting this way.  She finally gives up, and ignores me forever.

I keep forgetting that I can't be friends with cheerleaders.  They think about how funny a guy
is, how cute he is, and, omygosh, he can benchpress over 300 lbs!  How can a guy who is
late with the punchline make a girl laugh?  How can a cheerleader be friends with a guy who
isn't Chase Hansen or Johnny Depp, but more like Haphaestus?  How can a cheerleader be
a friend to a guy who doesn't benchpress 300 lbs?

I keep forgetting they don't want me around.  I remember one conversation I had with them.
Can I call it a conversation if they spoke only to each other and I ate lunch in the midst of
them, yet very alone?  I guess not.  Yet I kept trying to eat there, I kept trying to work up the
courage to say something.  But I couldn't.  And they wouldn't acknowledge me.  You'd think
I'd learn.

I keep forgetting I'm not alone.  I'm not the only one in this situation.  I'm not the only one
who eats with people alone.  I'm not the only one girls don't want to date.  I'm not the only
one who can't make friends with anyone, let alone cheerleaders.  I keep forgetting someone
has walked this path before me.

I keep forgetting my family.  I don't thank them enough.  I don't explain to them any
difficulties I have.  I leave them in the dust.  I love them, but I don't explain myself.  I
forget that they are always there for me.  I keep forgetting we have such fun on nights
where we just sit and watch a movie, or when we play a board game together. Tonight will
not be the last night I see the light.

When will we own ourselves completely?  We really don't know how to control ourselves.  We can't say without any hesitation "I have never let myself do anything I didn't want it to."  We don't truly know ourselves, as much as some people think.  When was the last time an unwanted thought crept into your head, unanounced?  When was the last time you said something without thinking?  Have you ever jerked in your sleep?  Can you truly control yourself around others?

Or do we all just FAIL?