What it's Like to Be Human

What

is it like,

 to be human?

Are we really

 all that

 different,

 you or I?

You were born, a babe, tiny and frail

  You grew, and in the growing, learned      You learned, and in the learning, grew

  At some point, tears have been                       shed both for sorrow and for joy

 At some point, the heart has filled

both with love, and with regret

You've lost your way a time or two

                You've lost something or someone                   

You thought you needed to survive

At some point, you've been lonely

and afraid, and longing to die

 At some point, you've been content

and sated, and longing still for more

You've known pride          in accomplishment

the humility of          embarassment

the honor of doing       something right

and you've felt               passion and apathy

 sometimes rolled            into one enigma

   You feel, you                   think, you are...

a body and a soul,              a heart and mind

 Are we really all that           different, you or I?

 

 

Reviews

[A.r. Bazian]

i love the theme!
it speaks right out to me!
i mean are we really that different?
i've been trying to understand the dialectics of the human perspective, and his humanity! how are we different!
we do insist that we are humans, not purely animals, yet, an animal more obvious part arises, what is so unique about us, you and i? do we make the difference? or are we destined to be humanely different!
wait... now pops out a different idea, are we not human as humanity knows itself? or are we not human at all?
how can we know if we know not how its like to be human?

i loved it!
very well written.

i'll admit the figure makes me smile, but i think the theme is rather more sad or perpetually serious, and it will always be so, the questions regarding our own HUMANITY!

or, maybe the figure is just helping us cope with questions unanswered while we remind ourselves with them. the humor of situation.

[Brianna Brie]

Very creative and definitely worthy of an award. My favorite parts are in the legs. Kudos!

[bey]

loved the dude. it made the message more impacting. nice food for thought wrapped in good poetry.


-bey.

[Pax Analog]

Now that's an excellent concrete poem, boilerplate United Nations kind of thing! Shape of human (or at least Gumby), universal sentiment of (un)common humanity in a world of seething insane political murder.

It's f*****g amazing you even have to remind the planetary homo sapiens of this, but there it is.

Kudos for a million dollar gingerbread anthem. I wonder if you could turn the above into a cookie. :-)

[Kat Williams]

Love the style and of course the content...feel as if another body could be drawn with more and more comparisons..makes u think

[Jerri]

Love the form. Congrats~

[Raef C. Boylan]

i didn't notice the person-shape until after I'd read the piece
and it made me smile, same as everybody else
but I also admired how the form didn't distract me
and i enjoyed the flitting between the legs
to finish each line
- so it worked on all levels for me.

You make your points well,
and the inventive lay out helps
make this poem all the more engaging.

Some subtle rhyme throughout, which I enjoyed,
and it helped with fluidity of the flow.
The language itself is fairly simplistic
yet you've captured some very complex human moments
and urged them to speak to us.

Overall, a really great write.
Thanks for posting it, and thanks for reviewing my piece.

[mick weller]

Yes... It's true... we are all just gingerbread men!
...probably not intentional? but it's hollow where the heart should be...
the graphic of this adds tremendously to the weight of the piece though,
nice thought-provoking work
cool!

[Silent Kim aka mizmetap..]

Very creative, I remember typing pictures in high school during typing classes. I was never really good at it. To be human, and just live is a great concept. Thanks for entering and good luck.

[Pakino]

I love how you created a human out of the words. THe message you are presenting is very clear and is very understandable. What is unique is that your poem is stating a gloomy topic in a neutral way. I find that great!

[Rainbowco]

Totally amazing words, formated to perfection with great imagination. It reads smoothly like fine wine. One of the best here.