Poetry Friday - On Speaking Up

Poetry Friday is hosted by Cathy Mere at Merely Day By Day today! Be sure to stop over and check out all the Poetry Friday posts!

Today, I thought I would share one of my own poems. I haven't written much poetry in my life but thanks to Poetry Friday, I wrote some haiku and even an ode to William Carlos Williams. 

My inspiration for this poem came last week when I had someone admit to me that she didn't like reading. I know many people dislike reading (or just haven't found the right book, according to me) but to hear this from a teacher breaks my heart just a little bit...fine, it breaks my heart a lot. I started talking to her about finding a book to love and asking her what kind of television or movies she really enjoyed. And that was pretty much the extent of our conversation. But then I realized that after our conversation, I found myself thinking about her again and again. I wish I had talked to her even more about her dislike of reading and I realized so many things that I would ask or say now! It led me to write the following poem:

A Loss For Words

There are times

when someone says something

so shocking

that I'm at 

a loss for words

Minutes

hours

days

later

I can't stop thinking about it

Finally

I think of 

what I should have said

in the first place

A witty response

A challenging response

A listen-here response

A tell-me-more response

How often do I experience this

but never go back to say what

I wish I could have said

should have said

would have said

if only I hadn't been so flabbergasted

?

I lose sleep

processing it all

The person

who sent me into this spiral

surely has no clue

thinks about it no more

doesn't know their impact on me

I wish I could find my voice

when this happens

but in the moment

that's easier said than done

Now

I vow

to not just let it go

I'll call

I'll write

I'll take him or her to lunch

I'll go back to the conversation

ask lots of questions

learn more about what he or she meant

share my thoughts

and hopefully help them 

see a different perspective

stretch their brains

think about their words

At least I can try.

Just me trying to process my thoughts and think about how I might manage my own thinking and response to others. Always thinking about my circle of influence! Happy Friday everyone!