I don't need to be in love.
I don't need fame or fortune.
I don't need to act, sing, or dance.
I don't need to be considered
"a great man" by others.
I don't need a moment of applause
for my life to be important,
for my life to be worthwhile.
Watching the wind throw colors
across the afternoon sky
like a painter rabid with vision.
Thrusting my hands into the pulsating soil
to plant a seed,
then watching it reach for heaven
and spread in saturated hues.
The kiss of a child.
The embrace of a friend.
My mother's smile.
The pride in my father's eyes
not for what I am but for who I am.
Reading the poetry of friends
when my heart is heavy.
No amount of acclaim
could make these any more glorious.
As the rose behind the fence,
hidden from view,
opens as proudly as its sister at my doorstep,
so I shall celebrate my life,
no matter how humble.
Author notes
I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware and by far the largest to me,
and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own to-day
or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now,
or with equal cheerfulness I can wait.
- Walt Whitman
"I rejoice in life for its own sake."
- George Bernard Shaw
Written October 22nd, 2003
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Comments
1 - 19 of 19
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A first time reader of your work, may i say that i found the journey a wonderful experience Excellently worded a real pleasure to read
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A beautiful write. WEll crafted and an enjoyable read. Thank you for entering. Very nicely done.
Sam
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Funny how I read so many of your poems and they remind me of a poem I'm written, totally different style to yours but based on the same thoughts, and I usually read your poem not long after I've written mind, not before... strange
This is beautiful!!
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PN,
I'm sorry for not responding sooner but the system didn't give me this message for some reason. Thank you and yes, you can certainly use this in your work. I would be honored. Please let me know how it goes. I don't think my work has ever been read to prison inmates. I'd be very interested in hearing how it is received.
Thanks again,
Mark
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Mark, I came to this via a "return the favor" link. I was prepared to read a well written poem and leave my little comment. Well, I found what I was expecting. The poem is excellent and I ended up copying it into my "favorite poetry" folder on my desktop (have found that much more reliable than bookmarking, as a few of my favorite poets have the disconcerting habit of deleting their poetry!) What I also found was a Whitman poem I hadn't ever read (thought that was impossible) and which I also copied into my favorite poetry folder...and a song lyric by David Wilcox, which (you guessed it!) met the same fate. Now, I have a favor to ask...I teach a class to inmates at the local prison here, and I read a poem at the start of each class. I'm wondering if you'd give me permission to read this poem of yours. It so perfectly expresses a truth I try to teach. I will await your response.
And, my kudos for the wonderfully concise and profound poesy. -
Hey David,
Just stumbled across the comment you made on this one many moons ago and wanted to say thanks.
I hope you're doing well.
Mark -
I always find that surfing through the contests helps spark the inspiration. Another good idea might be to make a list of the good stuff in life - like love, children, nature, kind old folks, dogs, etc., - and then pick one. Making a list of things to be thankful for is a good thing to do in general, poetry or no poetry.
I'm looking forward to reading it, whatever you write!
Take care of yourself,
Mark -
Okay now you've managed to really touch me with just your words....I might make an attempt at a happy poem to make someone smile soon..........I just can't think of a topic yet.....Maybe I will try doing a contest so that maybe I can think better....hmmm...okay I'll stop typing now.
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Hi Sharon,
That's an interesting comment - "I want to make someone smile for once instead of cry."
Wanting it is a start - for anything in life. Your desire will cause the transformation, if you let it happen. There's a story on my author page about two wolves - pain and joy - the one that grows stronger is the one you feed.
I heard another story once about a man who had a terrible childhood, abandoned by his parents, raised in an orphanage, beaten every day, etc. The orphanage threw him out when he got too old and he became a vagrant. The normal people ignored him or ridiculed him. He kept thinking, "One day, I will show them. I will show them all." He got a job sweeping up after the shows at the operahouse. When everyone had left the theater, he would sit alone and play the organ, his only pleasure in life. But the theater owner was cruel to him and the rich people who came to the shows would push him around and call him names. Yet he would always think, "One day, I will show all of them." This went on for years. One night, while the audience was waiting for the show to start, he decided that now was the time to show them all. He sat down at the organ. They all laughed at him. He closed his eyes and played the most beautiful music any of them had ever heard. He showed them all what he had in his heart.
I think life works that way. If there is beauty and goodness in us, nothing can take it away, unless we let it.
Thanks again. It's always nice to hear from you.
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Yet another beautiful poem. The way you use words and imagery so freely is just awesome....I wish I could figure out how you do it and use the method myself.....You can almost always find happy things to write about and most of my poetry is so dark....I want to make someone smile for once instead of cry. Oh well enough whining on my part. Great poem. So touching....I just loved this one too.
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As the rose behind the fence,
hidden from view,
opens as proudly as its sister at my doorstep,
... I REALLY love this line, your whole poem here is flawless, I enjoy reading your writes, because they tell me more and more about you, your soul and your journey in life. You inspire me, so very much, perhaps more than you will ever realize.
Love You,
Sara
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I liked this wonderfull poem..Mark,you have so manythings to offer ..even your comments to others are full of good points and kindness..you are such an amazing person..
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Oh you're too funny (your edited "because none of your beeswax" just cracked me up). I totally agree, it's been a subject much on my mind lately, and have even been running a poem around in my head about the damage that the media does to our self-esteem. I have OFTEN said, and my daughters can verify, exactly what you said above, about models or actors spend all day working out, then get airbrushed, hair and make-up done for hours, and then THIS is what WE'RE supposed to look like? Ahrgh, it makes me sick. I never read magazines, and I mean NEVER! Okay, obviously you hit a subject dear to me own heart.
Kerry
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Hi Kerry,
You're so right. We're all poisoned by the media. I think advertisers are right down there with lying used car salesmen. (Not all, just the lying ones, in case I insult any honest used car salesmen. I'm sure there's one somewhere! haha) All the implied "you should's" in advertising just drive me crazy. You should look this way, drive this, wear that, etc. I was waiting to get a haircut a while ago and I picked up a magazine. I never read magazines for some reason. It's a book or nothing. I got all caught up in the ads and actually started to get the "ooh-ahh" effect, feeling like I needed things I didn't even know about before I opened the magazine. I slammed it shut and tossed it aside thinking, "The bastards almost got me!" haha
Then, of course, there's the most damaging effect of all - that we don't look as good as the models who do nothing but work out all day, then get their photos touched up to remove all signs of being human. Makes me want to go join a commune in Oregon or something. Or maybe become Amish.
Have you ever heard of David Wilcox? He's my favorite songwriter. He wrote a great song about this called "Leave It Like It Is." Here are the lyrics -
"When the paint jar tipped off of the table,
you watched it as it started to fall.
Glass popped, shattered and splattered,
and paint spray hit the wall.
Bright blue, glossy enamel, across the kitchen floor.
You said, "Good God, look at that pattern!
I've never seen that before."
Leave it like it is.
Never mind the turpentine.
Leave it like it is.
It's fine.
When the paint dried, you gave it title.
You called it "Kitchen Blue."
A white frame painted around it
and gallery lighting, too.
Rich folks come over to dinner
and they all want one of their own.
They say, "How much? Who's the artist?"
And "My, what a beautiful home!"
Leave it like it is.
Never mind the turpentine
Leave it like it is.
It's fine
Most folks suffer in sorrow
thinking they're just no good.
They don't match a magazine model
as close as they think they should.
They live just like the paint-by-numbers.
The teacher would be impressed.
A lifetime of follow the lines,
so it's just like all the rest.
Leave it like it is.
Never mind the turpentine
Leave it like it is.
It's fine."
See you soon,
Mark
Edited on Feb 19, 12:54 because 'none of your beeswax'. -
AWESOME, A MUST-READ!
I know you wrote this a while back, but I just read it. Very, very, very COOOOOOOOOOOOOOL poem! I love this! I have my own little Zorbatic world too, as you previously noticed I love it when someone knows they can just be happy with the simple joys of life, without having to achieve the popular concept of "success" - you know, the life the media tells us we should have - I say, f#% that! 
Kerry
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I'm out of adjectives! Anything I say would be to less to express how much I liked it.
Mari
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Well,well, this is a stunning bit of magic. I have said this before but you do have a great heart to your words where the reader is actually drawn into a much nicer world and that in its self is a gift to be sure. This is such a wonderful bit of writing.
David -
Thanks Janet,
This was actually inspired by a friend whose spirit has become twisted by greed and vanity, so much so that he is looking almost exclusively at everyone's material accomplishments rather than character. It's been sad watching this transformation.
This poem was also inspired by the title character of my favorite novel, Zorba the Greek. He owns nothing and lives by his wits but his inner world is huge. One of my favorite lines from the book is, "When I die, the whole Zorbatic world dies with me!" The book made me think a lot about what really matters - how much we accomplish in the eyes of others versus how happy we are inside and how deeply we savor every moment of our existence, the people in our lives, etc. There are so many "successful" people with no joy in their eyes.
I was on the freeway a while ago when a beautiful Mercedes passed me with an immaculately dressed and groomed couple inside. They were like a grown-up Ken and Barbie. Two perfect kids were sitting in the back. Nobody was talking and they were all looking straight ahead. An old, beat-up station wagon came along next full of about ten Hispanic kids. The father had his arm around the mother in the front seat and everybody was laughing their heads off. The kids waved to me as they passed. I started laughing too because they were all so happy, it was infectious. I felt like God was sending me some kind of message. Obviously, money isn't the key to happiness. I'm very ambitious but a miserable person who becomes rich and famous will just be a miserable, rich and famous person. I'm determined to strike a balance between the two, basically by never letting my money or possessions define me. It always makes me laugh when someone says t somebody in a Lamberghini or whatever, "Hey, nice car!" Then the owner thanks them, like he built it himself or something, when all he did was waste a lot of money on it. Just weird.
I better end this rant now before I have to send it out to the publisher. lol
See ya in the funny papers!
Mark
Edited on Oct 25, 6:27 p.m. because ''. -
Mark~~
What can I say, you have blessed me again with yet another masterpiece to read and to ponder. You are one "together" guy! You have so wonderfully stated your testimony as to what you truly hold dear and important in your life. You know, the poorest man is not the man with no money, the poorest man is the man with no friends. To be secure and rejoice in who you are, needing no validation or acclaim from others, is a most magnificent thing. My favorite lines~~~"As the rose behind the fence, hidden from view opens as proudly as it's sister at my doorstep, so shall I celebrate my life, no matter how humble." Brilliant! The one that is hidden away that nobody pays much mind to is every bit as lovely and worthwhile and important as the one out in the center arena getting all of the attention....a rose is a rose is a rose and a rose by any other name is still a rose. To be content with one's life is a great blessing. Thank you for continuing to read my writings, it honors me that you would even recommend it to your friends. Thank you for the delightful compliment! You know I'll be back, I like it much over here at "your place!" A new friend and great poetry, what could be nicer! You take care and peace and blessings to you! I will see you soon!
Love and Hugs
~Janet~
Edited on Oct 24, 3:58 because ''.
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