What People Want and People See

People see what they want to see,

but they don’t live inside of me.

They don’t know the hurts and the lies

that cloud the oceans of my eyes.

 

So young; and I was overgrown,

layered in skirts of soil and stone.

My slender mind was tightly bound,

left lifeless on the battle ground.

 

I would that I could wash away

the stains and scars of yesterday;

but life is sad and bittersweet

whose dust clings to my weary feet.

 

I’ve survived the hatred and spite

whose hands gave way to blackened night

whose hurts were high and joys were low

who lays in death six feet below.

 

Yet, I am haunted, haunted still,

oppressed beyond my want or will;

and yet, I strive, I strive to be

what people want and people see.

 

Till life has died and death has come

in bouquets of chrysanthemum

will I move onward, onward be

what people want and people see.

Author's Note

Reviews

[.]

This poem is magnificent, and this verse alone,
is profound & stands alone beautifully on it's own (brilliant !)

"I’ve survived the hatred and spite
whose hands gave way to blackened night
whose hurts were high and joys were low
who lays in death six feet below."

[Mark]

"What people want and people see..." A deceptively profound thought, couched in such simple terms. Who among us has not suffered because we failed to adapt to another's preconceptions of how we ought to act or feel, or supplied THEIR needs, to the exclusion of our own? When I look at your photos, and think to myself, "This woman is surely too young and too beautiful ever to have disappointed anyone", I at once realize that I too, am guilty of preconception and stereotyping. We all have our private pains, our hidden burdens, our unpleasant but unsheddable histories, and once I thought of that as a bad thing...But upon reflection, I realized that pain is nearly the only thing that motivates us to learn and grow. So, BRING IT!

[Richard Williams]

An absolute master-stroke of delight, the depth of the soul borne on artistic wavelengths of sincere thought. A song of the self, a plea of revelation, poetry that touches the stars.

[Alicia Schroeder]

Beautiful write.

[Dream Weaver]

So sad and yet so true, "people see only what they want to see"
A beautifully penned piece that comes from deep within. BTW
The third stanza second word (would) should be wish, just a slight
oversight...Overall I was enthralled by this write...

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

this is exceptional~ it is intimate beyond the tell tale rhyme which is what unfolds the innocence crashing in shards of glass like echoes throughout~ I don't live inside of you~true~ but I know this song well~ only in a slighter variation beating behind my own temple~

[Forest Green]

Unwinds like a golden chain; thoughts melded with disappointment, never quite meeting the light of optimism, yet not giving up. Or giving in.

Delightfully done.

[Pax Analog]

This deceptively simple poem deals w/profound issues of inner experiences and outer perceptions. I'll "cheat" by noting that no sign in emphasis suffers misunderstanding as much as Pisces. The eventual grace of the suffering is about learning the alignment to contemplative transcendence over struggling w/the slings and arrows. Because people are mostly very half-baked developmentally, they are not going to see the inner truth without help, so of course the sufferer will only find relief in contemplation -- or really noticing when another person DOES have an extra spiritual intelligence resource to offer.

Contrasting what Spirit wants and what Spirit sees w/people emphasis may help w/the healing.

It is strange to be both the suffering figure and the healing Ground, but in fact that is our depth existential situation. Compassion for oneself and others is ultimately sustained by such insight.

Your poem is a touching delineation of the amplified psychic suffering of the figure in a realm of half-baked humanoids (bless us ;-). Likewise amplifying the intuition of a priori Spirit and allowing that to tip the scales is the beginning of real understanding from which forgiveness flows as naturally as the waters of a mountain stream over enigmatic stones.

Please just know that your graceful and eloquent lines of root confessional sorrow are understood by both a fellow struggling human and loving Spirit source.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Misjudging people goes many ways... just as the less attractive get overlooked because of appearance, those who are attractive can be misunderstood too... never given credit, singer can be thought of as getting contracts because of their looks and accused of lip-synching... just as poor are looked down upon the rich are always thought of as greedy... too often we look but never see. Open the book to a soul before you decide who you like. Anyways I love this poem, very insightful and thought provoking.