I Have Heard It Said

I Have Heard It Said

 

I’m not, very good with

what I don’t have…

and if, I did

I wouldn’t be mad

but I’ll  never know

so there’s no point

being sad.

and the ones that do…

they strut and they puff

they peer and they shoo

thinking that somehow…

they're better than you!

They’ll gather together

with others that do

to gain satisfaction

for what they hold true!

A strange interaction

begins to ensue…

in envious abstractions

of the others, that do

in a game of subtraction

to assuage their purview

till all that they have

is an empty pursue!

So if… by chance

you meet with a glance

from one of those… do’s

please do, smile at the efface

of their hollow review

for there is no disgrace

in the merits construe

that’s found in a place

of groundless taboo!

 

 

 

© 2023 Robert Trakofler

Author's Note

Robert · I Have Heard It Said

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

I like your honest spoof on hollow reviews! I hope I'm not one of them Robert... But yes, each reader has a different bent to his review...no one is absolutely right, but a hollow one is the worst....in your poem there are the haves and have nots.....it seems that the haves are pretty empty souls who really have nothing to say of any meaning... and that's not YOU!!! well done,
Warmly, B

[Robert Trakofler]

Hello Betty:) why does that sound familiar... Oh "Hey Betty" is a vintage store down the street from me LOL! So much has happened to me these past couple of years... much loss, much pain, much anger... and a healthy dose of frustration. after a slew of rejections from various publications, I guess this poem just came bellowing out from the back of my beleaguered and battered brain. I read so much poetry and much of the contemporary modern stuff I read in current publications is just awful LOL. I say this because I come to sites like this and the work is so much better than what is supposed to be "cutting edge" than it hit me the few publications left out there are just clubs little dying embers of what was... they forgot what makes a poem, a poem! it's not about artistry or beauty or the reflection of emotion to kindle our empathy or understanding it's about what's cool and who's in. Not grand wordplay or clever double meanings quite often its rather droll

[Betty Hermelee]

A very honest comment Robert; I hope you enjoy the holidays even though it seems like the timing may be a bit off for you, but there is always hope…..
Warmly
B.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Robert... We are wealthy with our Home filled with Treasures that have Poetic meaning for the past, present and future. Wealth is not measured in silver and gold; however the Worth is far greater to be told in verses and rhymes to fit our Fancy. softly, Pat

[Robert Trakofler]

LOL that's all I'm good for never was much for money it has always been the last thing I cared about and it shows... I got non :) but like you say... I have love by the bucket full:) and I wont be putting it into the bank I will be sharing and drinking it till the very last drop:)

[Poetic Beauty]

I try not to take negative reviews to heart although one of my dearest friends now used to be one of the harshest reviewers I came across. He would pick pieces apart in grammar and spelling and so on. He didn’t do it to be an a*s but to help people learn and fix their errors. He has helped me a lot to evolve my poetry and become the writer that I am now.

Then there are those that think their better than everyone and have nothing to learn and like to destroy others works for self gain and pleasure fueling egos

[Robert Trakofler]

I love it when people tell me if somethings wrong for the sake of the piece I wish more people would do that to help me learn more I am a big believer that as writers we never really stop evolving

[Poetic Beauty]

I believe we continually grow and change in our craft if we do it long enough

[Robert Trakofler]

LOL at least I'm trying:) I have a brick for a brain

[Poetic Beauty]

That’s all that matters, trying!

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

this was a thought-provoking work that both satirzes modern life but with elemnts of conessional poetry.
I’m not, very good with
what I don’t have… these lines resonate with me. i have always been different and people have noticed this, but nobody, myself included, can explain how so. i am weird, but not like other weirdos i dont fit in any cluster or subculture.
but i dont mind. i dont let the others' opinions bother me, just as this work implores.

[Robert Trakofler]

I never did either, Its not that people didn't except me its just I never really fit into the norms. My brain never worked like other people how I saw things never fit I was always one step out of sync:/ slightly askew LOL

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

im glad i found a kindred spirit. that really makes me feel better.

[Robert James]

A friend of mine once wrote, many years ago:

To be afraid of they
and what they say
is to be laid away
far, far away
from the realities of today.

I had not thought about it for years, though obviously it stuck with me all these years... In any case it popped back into my mind as I read yours. The amorphous THEY and what they will do or say never seem to go away. Nor do their thoughts and opinions ever get any better. I do wish that THEY would just leave us alone ;-)

Many thanks for an eternally good thought.

[John the Baptist]

This one seems to be a takedown of cliques. Yes, there are those, who because of similar interests and abilities, tend to look down on outsiders. Makes me think of high school fraternity brothers.

[Soren]

So true. Good advice here in verse. I liked the message.

[Robert Trakofler]

Hi Soren:) Well I don't "do" and I am just fine with that LOL

[emmajoygreen]

Strange how things go in life, the lessons we learn or - are advised to learn! Or, dear Bunny, should we only learn what we want to learn, just in case it comes in useful. From start to finish of the above, my eyes and mind nudged, saying,' Take notice of this generous and general piece of writing; take it as you find it because, well.. just because...' There are ways of trying, also, ways of being 'trying' You are the man and writer who knows how to be human. Take care of you, please.

[Robert Trakofler]

Love you Emmy:)

[Ken Simm.]

Reminds me of one I wrote called Booley and the Wold. But your take on this is much better. Hope you are well.

[Robert Trakofler]

Hi Ken I am doing wonderfully I was just thinking about you going thru all of these old slides of my stepfather's I need to send you one to see if it might inspire a bit of a scrawl from you:? I have given one to Nev and Ghounwah thus far, your next on my hit list:)

[Einstein Noodle]

yeah ... you are positively correct in this says i ... we can only control our own little selves .. i was particularly taken by
"They’ll gather together
with others that do
to gain satisfaction
for what they hold true!" ... groups of people supporting one another with only shared ideas and beliefs .. an imprenetable wall of self re-enforcement .. seem terrified by a "other" idea that just might tumble the whole works ... enjoyed hearing you read sir .. and your words ..
E.
ps. great pic .. love the little elongated "soup catcher" :)

[Robert Trakofler]

Many shirts have been saved by this gootee lol I have as a part of my life a large amount of exposure to people be it customers or employees or the myriad folks I interact with in the daily practice of my business. I have gay people poor people Republican people Democrats liberals catholic Protestant agnostic Muslim Buddhist transgender no gender you name it I probably know one:) the one thing I won’t tolerate is hate I do not hate them and I won’t let them hate the people I care about and like I said I have many I care about most of my customers businesses associates and employees become like family to me

[Einstein Noodle]

yep .. hate and fear .. two mortal enemies of human beings .. keep the lines open right!? ;)