Poetry Week Day One
Jan. 28th, 2014 02:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseI decided I'm going to write poetry for 5-7 days. There's a loose theme of creativity, especially the highs and lows, and the importance of audience.
Day One
Smile, And the World Will Turn a Blind Eye
They say smile, and the world smiles with you
Cry, and you cry alone
What a lie
Be happy
Tell people about your passions
Be proud of your skills
Find a favourite restaurant
Be creative
Share your joy
Write fic or poetry or a textbook
Sew a tapestry
Paint a masterpiece
Share a scrapbook of photos
But don't expect these things
To matter
Be sad
Whine and complain
Others will chime in
Their jobs suck, or suck worse
Misery loves company
Tell people you're sad or you're sick
Or depressed
And they'll send you best wishes
Tell you you're valuable
That what you do has meaning
If I'm of value
Then why is it only true
When I'm miserable?
Does my happiness not inspire?
Is my joy not worth sharing in?
If I actually possess any skill in putting words to paper
Or in painting a portrait
Then are the words not worth reading?
Is the picture not worth viewing?
If I were rich
If I were famous
If I were a real author
With real books to my name
Would people clamour to befriend me?
Would I be popular
Even though I'd still be the same person
With the same hopes and dreams
And passions and woes.
Are celebrity or sickness
The only things people care about?
(But don't whine too much
Understandably, no-one likes that, either)
People cry at funerals for their missing friends
People say they've been robbed of loved ones
Many people are hypocrites
Maybe they feel some obligation
To offer sympathies in times of trial
But they rarely feel the need to offer encouragement
In times of contentment
To be a positive force
Rather than just a shoulder to cry on
Smile and the world says, hey
You're happy, go do that
Alone
Cry and the world says
Don't be sad, there's so much to live for
I'm here for you –
- at least as long as you're unhappy.
I see this happen frequently. My father spends more time visiting his relatives when they're sick and dying than he ever does when they're living full lives. One of my aunts spends more time tending graves than she did with the deceased when they were alive. There are more 'sorry you're sick' comments than on my love meme. People really do only seem to make time for you when you're ill or depressed or dead. What a negative message to put out into the world.
Bernie Siegel in "Love, Medicine, and Miracles" talks about this, the psychology of illness and the way this message is reinforced:
I certainly understand how being sick sometimes forces me to relax and just be. But when I tell people I'm sick, while I truly appreciate the sympathy, I'm often telling them so they know why I'm not around, or not answering comments or emails. It's my sense of obligation to say "I'm sorry I'm behind on things" rather than "I'm sick, therefore love me." I'd actually rather be loved for my accomplishments than my shortcomings.
(This is also why I'm more likely to leave you supportive "yay, great to see you writing again" type comments than to keep commenting on angst-ridden real life posts. An occasional rant/whine can be cathartic, and I can sympathise or empathise and will leave a nice comment, but a regular stream of "woe" posts only seems to generate more negativity for everyone involved.)
Day One
Smile, And the World Will Turn a Blind Eye
They say smile, and the world smiles with you
Cry, and you cry alone
What a lie
Be happy
Tell people about your passions
Be proud of your skills
Find a favourite restaurant
Be creative
Share your joy
Write fic or poetry or a textbook
Sew a tapestry
Paint a masterpiece
Share a scrapbook of photos
But don't expect these things
To matter
Be sad
Whine and complain
Others will chime in
Their jobs suck, or suck worse
Misery loves company
Tell people you're sad or you're sick
Or depressed
And they'll send you best wishes
Tell you you're valuable
That what you do has meaning
If I'm of value
Then why is it only true
When I'm miserable?
Does my happiness not inspire?
Is my joy not worth sharing in?
If I actually possess any skill in putting words to paper
Or in painting a portrait
Then are the words not worth reading?
Is the picture not worth viewing?
If I were rich
If I were famous
If I were a real author
With real books to my name
Would people clamour to befriend me?
Would I be popular
Even though I'd still be the same person
With the same hopes and dreams
And passions and woes.
Are celebrity or sickness
The only things people care about?
(But don't whine too much
Understandably, no-one likes that, either)
People cry at funerals for their missing friends
People say they've been robbed of loved ones
Many people are hypocrites
Maybe they feel some obligation
To offer sympathies in times of trial
But they rarely feel the need to offer encouragement
In times of contentment
To be a positive force
Rather than just a shoulder to cry on
Smile and the world says, hey
You're happy, go do that
Alone
Cry and the world says
Don't be sad, there's so much to live for
I'm here for you –
- at least as long as you're unhappy.
I see this happen frequently. My father spends more time visiting his relatives when they're sick and dying than he ever does when they're living full lives. One of my aunts spends more time tending graves than she did with the deceased when they were alive. There are more 'sorry you're sick' comments than on my love meme. People really do only seem to make time for you when you're ill or depressed or dead. What a negative message to put out into the world.
Bernie Siegel in "Love, Medicine, and Miracles" talks about this, the psychology of illness and the way this message is reinforced:
I certainly understand how being sick sometimes forces me to relax and just be. But when I tell people I'm sick, while I truly appreciate the sympathy, I'm often telling them so they know why I'm not around, or not answering comments or emails. It's my sense of obligation to say "I'm sorry I'm behind on things" rather than "I'm sick, therefore love me." I'd actually rather be loved for my accomplishments than my shortcomings.
(This is also why I'm more likely to leave you supportive "yay, great to see you writing again" type comments than to keep commenting on angst-ridden real life posts. An occasional rant/whine can be cathartic, and I can sympathise or empathise and will leave a nice comment, but a regular stream of "woe" posts only seems to generate more negativity for everyone involved.)
no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 01:27 pm (UTC)The distinct lack of comments/reviews always looks and feels like disinterest. With no 'like' function, I have no only comments to gauge readership and my readership for the past two months has been almost zero.
That said, there is no "moment" for creative endeavours. While it might be odd to say "sorry you didn't get that job" six months after the fact, photos and fic don't vanish. I still get a thrill from a like/kudos/review on an older piece, wherever I've shared it.
There's a few last things I'd like to post, and then maybe there'll be a few *more* last things until I feel happier again, but it's hard to muster up any enthusiasm right now.