Have You Seen This? You Want To.

To This Day 

by Spoken Word Poet Shane Koyczan

Well worth every minute.  You will be moved.

Masterpiece

The Orchid

I walked alone

On a dark stretch of imperfection

The road was pointless

Stumbling marked my hesitation

                                              

I found courage, tried to run

But darkness cloaked the air

And twisted vines mocked my despair

                                                           

Dropping to my knees                                 

I wished for strength to fight the night

And clear the wood, to reach the light

The prayer I spoke

Was little more than just a breath

But there it was,

An answer on my quest

It stood alone, the orchid,

Fragile beauty wrapped in might

And seemed to glow from inner light

I gasped and smiled

As through the darkened mist it shone

Its unique purpose before unknown

The bloom was there, placed perfectly,

And because of this bloom

I remembered me

Its beauty, both intricate and fair,

Reminded me of what I usually fail to see

That we are magnificently created things

I continued on that day

To purpose which had seemed so far away

But the path was not as gray

The orchid lit my way

 Copyright 2006 Jennifer Wagner

Bullying is a newsworthy subject these days.  We’ve all seen it; some of us have even participated in it.  My son recently began to be the recipient of some ugly bullying behavior at school.  Undeniably, it is one of the most heart-breaking things to watch your kid go through.  To have that once-tiny, bundle-of-cute you would die for come home sobbing after you have sent him out into the world of his peers is well, hell.  Or something like it.  Differences aren’t often tolerated, and the messages that life can serve (you’re too fat, not smart, not athletic, not good at anything, or just plain not good enough) warp us until we believe them.  But they are not correct.  We are valuable.  We have purpose.  I had written this poem a few years ago when I was wrestling with my own thoughts on this issue, and it came to mind as I have been traversing some rough waters with my son.  Have you ever taken a good long look at an orchid?  It’s a masterpiece of artistry isn’t it?  But it doesn’t look like a daisy and it doesn’t smell like a rose and it doesn’t grow like a sunflower.  It is different.  It is its own unique work of art.  And so is he.  And so are you.

<a href="http://www.public-domain-image.com/flora-plants-public-domain-images-pictures/flowers-public-domain-images-pictures/orchid-flower-pictures/white-and-red-orchid.jpg.html" title="White and red orchid">White and red orchid</a> on <a href="http://www.public-domain-image.com" title="Public Domain Images">Public Domain Images</a>