I
wish these words could fly off of this page,
Out
of my rage,
And
resonate
Into
your mind
So
you couldn’t sow
The
seeds that show
Your
ignorance.
I
wish I held the antidote to the vile poison you carelessly inject,
Because
you don’t expect
Consequences.
For
these words that you spew
You
can never undo
The
pain.
I
wish you could catch every tear that soaks his pillow at night
Stored
in the reservoir, in fear you might
Shout
“cry baby.”
Just
as his father who told him to be a man,
Who
used up his punches, then ran
Leaving
nothing.
But
I know that these wishes I make as I gaze at the endless possibilities
You
have in this life
Will
melt like his hopes and his dreams.
Unless
Unless
you take the time to think before you speak
To
realize that every action comes with a consequence
To
see that maybe his pants are too short
Because
his mother spent her last five dollars last week.
To
see that at the end of the day,
You
and him,
You
and me,
We’re
all the same birds of a different prey.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your poem. Reading this literally evoked emotion from me. I can tell that this is a heart-felt poem and is packed with meaning beneath the surface. It is easy to judge and put others down without condideration to their individual predicaments. Your poem is a creative reflection of that.
Dear Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this. There is so much emotion coming from this poem that it is difficult not to feel some sort of response. It feels so raw and real. It is an emotional ride all throughout. This poem came from the heart and it is not hard to tell. Thank you for this poem.
Thank you for saying what so many of us are thinking. I wish more students and even educators would take your point of view. People never think about what happens when the student goes home. People don't realize how their words affect people and how deep their words can go. Even though this poem has a very serious tone and message to it, it makes me happy to know that I'm not alone in my viewpoints on subjects like this.
ReplyDeleteTiffany,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your poem. Specifically, thank you for the powerful message you have sent in it. I wish your students could take a look at this poem. Bullying is such a vile thing and it occurs everywhere, unfortunately even in the most positive of environments. Words are a powerful tool, and you prove that.
Dear Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteThank you for “Without Wishes.” What a powerful piece! I love how you use second person voice to speak directly to the antagonist. Thank you for capturing the frustration teachers experience when young people do not think about the consequences of their hurtful words and actions against their peers. I also appreciate the picture you paint of the victim (survivor) whose father tells him to man up—and then leaves (is that what a man does?)—and his mother who is struggling to make ends meet. I appreciate this powerful and emotional depiction. Thank you, Tiffany.
Katie