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The Smile of a Friend

From the burnt out ashes of inmate 73168 A poet was born My words confessed my truth My truth became my ladder And I started to climb up out of that hole Because I knew at the top of that ladder There was an angel waiting for me As I was climbing up the ladder Knowing how far I had fell I fully understood that I had a long way to climb As I was ascending I started to ponder If at this point I stop another from falling any further Will the remaining distance they would have fell? Be taken off of my own climb Thus shortening the length of my own ascent Of course I contemplated that the answer was no Because There are no shortcuts to heaven But I learned The more people you help up their ladder The more beautiful the scenery is from your own Because nothing is more beautiful Than the smile of a friend

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Abraham L

Date: 12/28/2008 12:30:00 AM

and by the way thanks for sharing, your poems are encouraging best wishes to you and your family for the New Year

Abraham L

Date: 12/28/2008 12:28:00 AM

Michael, Michael, michael, i really loved this poem, and how true are these words, you are brilliant. Tha'ts what life is all about, i always say we are our brothers keeper, and that is the reason we are here on this earth, to help someone. I believe the reason some people find life so difficult is because sad to say they are selfish, not in a bad way, but we have to loose sight of ourselves sometime, and look out for the NEED, of someone else.

Holly Horriffic

Date: 12/26/2008 8:49:00 PM

Aww. Its amazing. Best wishes.

Seema Ali

Date: 12/18/2008 8:42:00 PM

Wonderful poem!I wish you all the success in your in poetry! Merry Christmas,Best wishes-seema

Vince Suzadail Jr.

Date: 12/10/2008 6:34:00 AM

A smile is one of the few tings we can give away and almost always be assured it will be returned. Another success story. God Bless. Vince

Margaret Okubo

Date: 12/9/2008 6:51:00 AM

Very profound and true. Forget your troubles and concentrate on helping others.As I always say"unhappiness comes from thinking about oneself but joy comes from thinking about others."I am glad you now have a chance to read my book. I do hope Antoinette enjoyed it. Don't forget to write a review at Amazon.com.Thanks. Blessings.

James Foulk

Date: 12/4/2008 1:36:00 PM

a very beautiful piece of poetry by a warm hearted poet and person. thank you for reading my blue river and for your comment.

Elaine George

Date: 12/3/2008 2:11:00 AM

Amen! Such powerful words of wisdom, dear Michael. God Bless you. Love, lainie

Mohammad Yamin

Date: 12/2/2008 10:22:00 AM

Michael, Thanks for congratulating on my poem winning tne finals. I am grateful. I have also read with keen interest your poem 'The Smile of a Friend'. What a profound write. To give the gift of a smile to a friend's lips is a great act. -Mohammad

Des Juan Richardson

Date: 12/1/2008 5:13:00 PM

Michael, you are correct there is nothing more beautiful and satisfying than making a friend smile. I like this write. Thanks for the congrats. I had not been on the soup for some time, so I was shocked to hear how far it has made it. Thanks again. ~Des Juan

Brian Strand

Date: 11/30/2008 12:32:00 AM

Thank you for your kind words Michael & comments.I had a 'period' a while back of longer poetry an example being a kyrielle 'BLOODLINES'.Funnily enough my next self-published chapbook, currently a WIP, is a collection of my 'longer poetry'.Rgds Brian

Helen J Radford

Date: 11/30/2008 12:30:00 AM

I absolutely love the sentiment in this, especially the last 4 lines. Thanks so much for your congratulations on getting through to the final round! I didn't even know I had until you told me.

Iolanda Scripca

Date: 11/29/2008 9:21:00 PM

Hi Michael. You got another smile from your new friend :) Thank you for the following comment but hhow do you know about it? I cannot seem to find the info anywhere. Comments 1 to 10 of 10 Comments: Comments: posted 11/29/2008 8:08:00 PM by michael jordan Iolanda - Congrats on your poetry making it through to the next round – Great Job & God Bless

Ali Matheny

Date: 11/29/2008 8:45:00 PM

I love it, It really shows who YOU are inside and out!! ^.^ Love Your Friend Alexz

P Sheart

Date: 11/29/2008 8:16:00 PM

Hello Michael A beautiful poem written straight from your heart. Smiles, It's amazing how such a little thing can mean so very much. I too love the line My tuth becomes my ladder. Thanks for sharing such a special endearing write with us! Hope you and yours are having a wonderful holiday season filled with much love and happiness. Take care hun! Love Light Truth Patricia

Joseph Spence Sr

Date: 11/29/2008 12:18:00 PM

This is excellent. I like the flow of the words and the message. It's just amazing how life turns and the things we consider as an awakening process. Great job! ~Joseph

Derrick Burton

Date: 11/29/2008 10:28:00 AM

internal, eternal, eternal was the word i was aiming to use the definitions are different eternal is forever and internal is for bleeding inside, eternal--- it feels like you are waiting on god forever, that was the eternal bleeding. this poem has alot of definitions, as would a pacaso painting with looking faces, I knew a man who owned one and to this day he still probaly dont know what it means, sorry mj Ill stop bugging you about this, some people believe folks dont what their writing.

Christy Hardy

Date: 11/29/2008 4:34:00 AM

Michael, I love this poem...you are so right about smiles....I see them as a passage from one heart to another...I love the line, "my truth became my ladder".... as always, I loved this write, you are so dear to my heart....always, Christy

Kristin Reynolds

Date: 11/29/2008 3:44:00 AM

You are right, about every word. Nothing says love, and reflection of the same, as a smile of a friend or loved one. love, Kristin

Brian Strand

Date: 11/29/2008 1:00:00 AM

Your last line reminds me Michael.Just a smile changed my picture of Christians and a little brought me to my confession of faith.Rgds Brian & thanks fo your kind words.Have a good weekend

Derrick Burton

Date: 11/28/2008 9:08:00 PM

the poem [Let go] was not about the street but you can compare it to the street, this poem is for any one who is so fustrated with god sometimes to it makes them sick. I was raised in some messed up places in philly, most of the things I am blessed to write about are things ive seeb through out my life. The poem King Kong is about my fathers murdered friend.

Derrick Burton

Date: 11/28/2008 8:45:00 PM

thank you for reading it, most are not into long poems, personally I believe a poem should be a story wrapped in all kinds of real sanarios of life, we live so long on earth and most poems I read about life are short when life isnt short. I am always looking for the right words to transform tragedy in to art. When the artist paints they use the various colors as words, not a few strokes of paint.

Barbara Gorelick

Date: 11/28/2008 5:01:00 PM

It takes courage to post something so personal. Loved it. BG

Sharon Winter

Date: 11/28/2008 4:34:00 PM

This touched me deeply, and like Karen, I love "There are no shortcuts to heaven". Yes, the smile of a grateful friend is like the warmth and light of the sun. Extremely beautiful write. Michael, your latest comment made my day. If you saw me smiling when I read it, that would have been a bright shining smile of a friend. Love you dearly. Thank you for all you are and all you do. Love, Shar

Date: 11/28/2008 4:05:00 PM

I agree, "There are no shortcuts to heaven". The journey is too important. Love the last four lines--such a wonderful message. Blessings to you for sharing your thoughts with us. Thank you for the kind comments on my poem. Karen