To you, dear stranger

Even though I do not know you... I do love you.

To you whom I do not know;

I guess the reason it’s easy to tell a stranger anything in your heart

Is because they can listen with an unbiased mind.

So for you, dear stranger, for you whom I do not know,

I spill myself out, but listen, for you never know what you might find.

 

For twenty years I kept my soul hidden inside

Put on a strong face for everyone I love.

Wearing a mask, all to facilitate others instead

Always choosing to lift people high- high above.

 

You see, when I witness someone smile

Because of maybe something I said or did,

A smile of my own then lightens my soul

And I know I helped place them on this grid.

 

The grid of humanity, so flawed yet yearned for,

Sometimes feels as though drained of good.

But when I see someone selflessly assist another,

I realise that humanity is just understood.

 

There are many great people amongst all the hinder,

And there are still kind words within a sea of let downs.

For every time someone is hurt by another,

Listen close, for laughter and love have hypnotic sounds.

 

I’ve seen firsthand how bad people can really be,

Abusing, scarring, detestation and heart breaking.

I’ve certainly made copious mistakes myself,

Drugs, fighting, hurting- but my heart too was aching.

 

From within the ashes you must rise above,

Because life is far too short to squander away.

Overcome troubles and grow from the past,

And you’ll find that your true soul will never betray.

 

I believe profoundly in the power of mankind

To fix the devastation caused by our hands

I sincerely know our morals are too true

For us not to get to our feet and make a stand.

 

We need to stand tall, proud and brave

Fight for our rights, our beliefs and our selves.

I won’t accept Equality as an impossible task,

For I know we are able to break out of these shells.

 

These shells of which were formed by time,

Generations who refused to open their minds and change.

All caused by naiveté we inherited from our predecessors,

That taught us division, taught us some customs are ‘strange.’

 

It’s time for the world to think for ourselves,

Erase lines of partition creating social and racial class.

It’s time for us all to break away from the collective road,

And walk our own paths through unchartered grass.

 

So to you, dearest stranger, whom I have genuinely poured out my heart,

I hope that to you, my words made even a small amount of sense.

But if they held no meaning or value to you, it does not matter,

Cause’ to me they hold not one ounce of insincere pretence.

 

...and maybe to someone else as well.

 

Author's Note

humanity isn't lost. I refuse to believe the good in us all will never prevail.

Reviews

[Desert Dreamer]

Humanity does often feel "drained of good" to me as well, although I find good people it seems as a whole we are a culture of destruction, that we are taught to be blind. I agree that we must fight to make our culture better, we can change our culture, we don't have to live with so much destruction around us. I enjoyed your poem.

[Young Mountain]

Age is really just a number. I felt this way 10 years ago at 20 and still the same at 30.

I loved this because it was so vulnerable and so real. You didn't need to use much metaphor or mask words. It was almost like a question to be better or at least thats how I read it. This is one of my favourites I've read so far on the sit.

Thanks for opening up and sharing.
x

[ChristianM]

I thought this was good but thought it was a little cliche at the same time.
No offense,
but it just seems like I've heard this poem before.
I applaud you for your effort, I see a lot of thought was put into this.
The message is a great one, and not many people on this site would have been able to put a profound statement like this into a poem without turning it into another sappy piece of garbage about losing a boyfriend or girlfriend. lol
So in that sense know that you are in the higher tier of poets on this site. =D

[Marie Harrison]

Very lovely poem. A great deal of thought and emotion went into this superb work. Great job!

[Clarisse Nanoit]

*pretense. Oh, wait... Is this one of those words like "realise" that's spelled a different way somewhere else? lol. Idk. But I can say that I enjoyed reading. I have always believe in the innate goodness of people. Of course, ppl strive every day to prove me wrong. lol. Alas, I never give up. Nice diction here. Very specific wording, and I liked it. This piece reveals a stubborn but sweet nature you have there. I like it. Good piece.
KH

[TadKent]

I LOVED this. Thanks so much for entering this. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for.