Unpacked

Like the Russian dolls
I'm standing outside myself looking inwards
dissecting the layers of each mask I wear
for each personality I own
for each circumstance or situation I encounter
or person I deal with
I reach the second last layer and come across a dirty big chunk of granite rock
and I can feel the sheer overpowering pounding of
naked raw vulnerability of innocence
I'm knocked back by the power, overwhelmed by emotions and feelings of inadequacy
warnings pound in my head
I feel great pain, shame, guilt, wrath, injustice...
undeserving of the pure innocence I feel, I picture on the other side of this encasing before me
for the first time in my life
I know who stops me getting close to this treasure
within me
for the first time in my life
I can name the booming voice that shoves me away
whenever I try approaching...
it is me

freeflowpoet

We Share

I don't have many material possessions
by societies' standards I'm pretty much a poor man
(until it comes to tax time, of course)
I don't have a wallet overflowing with cash
and more often then not my bank balance reflects all of this
I never completed the last year of our school system
and I don't hold degrees or diplomas
yet I'm schooled in things the systems can never teach
and I know the ins and out of empathy and compassion
like the back of my hand
I understand the plight of those who struggle
I also understand the desire and drive that makes 'man' want more than the next
I understand what it means to start off in life (on your own two feet) without the basics
Don't need to explain hate or injustice to me
don't need to tell me about ulterior motives and sin
don't need to explain demons and angels or the Devil and 'God'
(however 'he' appears to you or you understand 'him')
But at the end of the day I'm content and grateful
maybe I won't experience somethings that enrich life...
like the flashy sports car
the large mansion or house on a huge block
the experience of giving birth
of being a natural mother
or sharing my life with the love of my life
then again maybe there's still so much more in life for me to experience
to live
but right here, right now
I am truly happy
I have faith
I have a full spirit within
No one ever said life was easy
and 'man' is such a complex creature with all our emotions and abilities (or lack of!)
but I count myself richer than any millionaire
for I have more than I need in other forms than material things and dollars
and it nourishes me even more
when I give a hand to another human being
when someone else gets that glint in their eyes...
knowing 'man' that cares for 'his' neighbor
still exists in this world
(we share)

freeflowpoet