How about you try coming up for air?
Just because we're in the internet age
And everyone has their own megaphone
Doesn’t mean you have to use it so much
Instead of adding to the endless noise
Could you try to actually listen?
Not to the people with tents next to yours
Or the ones firing at your walls from theirs
But how about the ones building the bridge?
The ones who care less about red and blue
And more about all of humanity
It's true, you'll have to leave some things behind
Lay down that blasted megaphone to start
Even if we all don't see eye to eye
We have to get close enough not to shout
Time to accept that you don't know it all
That there might be something you've yet to learn
There is a chance they have your missing piece
It's possible that you have their piece too
Perhaps we can try solving the puzzle
By working with each other, not against
I'm a poet, not a politician
But I have looked in a mirror before
And I can tell you this with certainty
The person who you're trying to cancel
Looks a lot like you and a lot like me
About the Creator
D.K. Shepard
Character Crafter, Witty Banter Enthusiast, World Builder, Unpublished novelist...for now
Fantasy is where I thrive, but I like to experiment with genres for my short stories. Currently employed as a teacher in Louisville.
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How Long is Forever?
Even with three hands Eternity is beyond Every clock's short reach I'm very late to the party, but I've had a couple of these rattling around in my head! Ellie Hoovs has released many wonderful Wonderland prompts and example poems as part of her May Challenge. Check out the details below:
By D.K. Shepard8 months ago in Poets
Fair Exchange, No Robberies
Dark Memoirs - Index There are at least two kinds of people in the world: those who write this half-arsed kind of intro to a story that looks to separate the rare and the norm, and those who realise it's an overused framing device and don't.
By Paul Stewart6 days ago in Chapters
Comments (26)
Undiluted truth in a poem always works in my book. Well stated DK! Congrats on your leaderboard placement 🎉
Such a deep message. I love the line "We have to get close enough not to shout". The more connected we are to the grid, the more far we get from ourselves and others. Congrats on your leaderboard placement D.K.!
Yay DK!!! Congrats on fifth on this week's leaderboard!!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Congrats on leaderboard placement with this fine piece of work that speaks lessons for those in need of learning. That last line hits hard.
Brilliantly written… I love: “ Could you try to actually listen? Not to the people with tents next to yours Or the ones firing at your walls from theirs But how about the ones building the bridge?” & the final line.✅💖
Well said. It's difficult to have honest discussions when so many of them happen online. The world is 'smaller' with access to the internet, yet it also allows for flames to be fanned from every corner. I need to work more at listening, thank you for that reminder :)
One for humanity, I love it, and wish more people would drop the megaphone!
Very well done! So much truth in every line
This works both as a plea and a poem, DK! We need to find our way back to dialogue before the rifle fully replaces the megaphone.
A very painful set of truths included here. Well done!
Well said, D.K.
Ugh, I wish more people would listen to this and follow it as well. Loved it!
Bravo!! Well said and true. Partner, listen, find commonalities, respect. 😍
Well-wrought! Partisanship in any era rests on the old lie about the lesser evil: better our bastard than their bastard, they say to themselves, then clutch their pearls in shock when their bastard turns out to be a bastard!
excellent!
Such a powerful poem, DK! There’s too much Us vs Them in this world, and the divisions are fueled by the politicians who have no idea of what true service to the people means. It’s really maddening.
What a mic drop at the end! The tone is quieter too, and your word choice gives the impression of softness, which creates a leaning-in-to-listen effect. Loved it!
this is so full of hard earned, soul searching wisdom, but with that elegance you do so well! I hopethis places, because it deserves to! beatiful work, DK
Moral wisdom in vital verse!
Well said. We'll never bridge the divide so long as we keep screaming at each other from the other side.
I like the straight up truth and hard fact this poem Delivers a message that doesn’t yell but speak volumes if we just listen and hear Well said
"We have to get close enough not to shout"... that was line that did me in!! So masterfully said DK!! I loved this beyond words I can find to express!!
Yes, politics and disagreements is at an all time high right now and has been for a long time. The violence is at an all time high. Politicians could learn a lot from poets. Missing pieces indeed. Wonderful poem DK - Nicely Done!!!!
Missing pieced indeed DK. The people they are trying to cancel they will find in the mirror. Well Done!!!