Best Benefit Of The Doubt Poems
The End
I am dead.
I travel towards a blue ball of LIGHT.
It calls me, communicates.
Whether we are billions, trillions or
even just millions.
we are eternal, we are one.
The time we spend on Earth
is infinitesimal.
Hate has no place inside the light.
Give people the benefit of the doubt
there is nothing to be gained or lost
you just must.
Power is fleeting and it too means nothing.
I am speaking these word out loud
but my understanding is greater than that
a lot greater.
All life is vital; all of it travels back and forth.
Cleanse your spirit your mind and heart,
forgive everyone.
Your purpose is not what it seems.
Do not be afraid of those who hate you.
Fear no one.
Fear is a wasted emotion that only drains energy.
When you speak of peace the confused will attack.
Stay kind, stay pure.
There is nothing to win
there is nothing to lose you just must.
Look deep into others eyes
there you will see who you are.
Cleanse yourself there is a light,
a life that awaits us all,
what awaits us is greater
than any words or ideas.
In our simple form
we cannot conceive the after light.
Light not dark is our destiny
brighter than you've ever seen.
Live by the light, it will set you free.
It is the peaceful who are brave.
Just rid yourself of hate believe in peace,
walk lightly and all will be clear!
We are and will always be one.
........never ever give up on anyone.........
on................any............one
........suddenly........
I am back.......
........I died
but I am back........
........I know because all my angst returns.
All my family is around me.
There are tubes down my throat
wires everywhere.
I am blessed my family with me
tears and smiles a love that blankets me.
I smile.
The Beginning.
31~10~2014
Sponsor: Anthony Slausen
Contest Name: Near Death or Near Life Experience
Faith means believing
If there is a chance in the million
You could be the one who gets it
Faith means giving yourself the benefit of the doubt
Being happy with what you have accomplished
Focusing on the things you did right today
Whatever you tell your brain, she believes you
So be kind to yourself. Be optimistic. Be forgiving.
Dance your own dance, bring out the feathers.
If you want to wear a tutu, wear a tutu.
If you want to wear your zebra pajamas, wear your zebra pajamas.
Take care of yourself. Nurture yourself. Love yourself.
If there are things in your background that hurt you,
Speak to your child self. Tell her you will take care of her.
Assure her that you will not accept meanness of any kind toward her.
Above all, live your life as a beacon of hope to others.
Show them that you can twirl and whirl and be crazy with giddiness
About being you. God does not make mistakes.
I’m Okay With You
I’m okay with you.
Doesn’t matter what you think—
Politically or religiously.
I like you even though we disagree.
I like talking to you about music and sports—
About cinema, literature and art.
I respect your opinion on all things.
You are my friend, and as such,
You will always receive the benefit of the doubt.
You will always be respected, regardless of circumstances,
Regardless of vehement disagreements spoken in anger.
You are my friend and have earned my good will.
You have grown to become the fierce wind at my back.
I say: Thank you, my friend, for staying loyal.
My hope for you is one of good health and good cheer.
And please know this:
There are no eggshells in my garden.
Truly, I’m okay with you.
We used to give the President
and the Presidency
the benefit of the doubt
Now we doubt
there's any benefit
to the President
or the Presidency
“Life’s A Lot Like Baseball”
Life’s a lot like baseball, neither is a simple game.
Each is filled with the stuff of life.
Both, so much the same.
Complete with hard work and training, nearly every day.
In each, one learns to catch and throw;
and taking bases along the way.
Everyone is a baseball player;
whether on shortstop, in the dugout or at the pitcher’s mound.
It doesn’t really matter where we are
as long as we are team players, dedicated all around.
Sometimes we catch the balls;sometimes we may miss.
But everything’s A-OK, as long as we try again even if the crowd boos a hiss.
Every once in a while, when we're batting well,
we may even hit a desired home run.
Life seems so good; such a celebration time,
filled with much laughter and fun.
When we strike out, we need to remember…
Not all is lost; we’re still part of a great world team.
If we are down on ourselves for not playing well,
we just need to try again,
because the game is never as bad as it seems.
When we are mad or disappointed with other players,
we need to give them the benefit of the doubt.
They could be struggling with problems unseen,
and we wouldn’t want to wrongly shout, “You’re Out”!
Sometimes we might attend a game
to encourage or watch others play.
It could be family, friends or anyone,
we are there to encourage and inspire them on their way.
Yes, life is a lot like baseball;
with its seasons, players and teams ever changing, as its always been.
Remember though, we are all in this together,
to support,
to cheer,
to win!
THE BAWDIEST ONE
At one with the world is like knowing the universe of people.
You see that is because he or she is transparent.
Even when you know he or she is a straight liar, you will provide him or her the benefit of the doubt.
The day will come when you will call this liar out.
Meaning, you let him or her know of his or her lies.
One of these days, I will speak.
And in this speech, I will teach.
I will tell about life as it is to view the response that I receive.
I know I will see haters and crusaders,
Insofar as this is a measure that ensues.
We are a united way.
We are together as one.
We strive to achieve individuality.
Each is part of the team.
The maximum exposure one seeks.
Holding hands, we walk for Civil Rights.
The white man must empower our rights just to wave our hands.
He is the subjugator that has suppressed a different race of men and women.
The bawdiest one is he.
As one, we seek to be unrestricted in possessing the same freedoms.
At liberty one is stated to be in the United States of America.
Liberated by one's constitutional presence.
One's status is within the workforce.
One's voice is heard via politics and religion.
As one, it is our civic duty to refine this determination.
***********
*The philosophical tenet of this passage is one is determine to be removed from the crime scene schooled.
__________________________________________________________________|
Written September 07, 2015!
To all my Friends on the Soup
You! Yes, YOU!
You read the title, right?
The most important word in that was…FRIENDS
Is that why you’re reading this?
Are you a friend?
Hmmmmmm…..
Here is the check list…
Do you leave an encouraging post after reading my poem?
Do you send me soupmail now and again when you see I’ve gone missing?
Do you visit more often than once in a blue moon?
Do you give me the benefit of the doubt?
Do you read my older writes when you miss me?
Do you look for my name?
Do you?
Well, if not…why are you reading this poem?
Curiosity?
Jealousy?
Boredom?
Passion for Poetry?
None of the above….ALL the above?
I don’t know…are you a friend or foe?
Only you know…only you know.
To my REAL friends on Poetry Soup…
You know who you are...
My scintillating stars
My mentors and my guides
My comforters and supporters
My shoulders to lean on
My sweetest treats
Who?
Yes, YOU!
Thank you….for loving me. I’m not always easy to love. I make mistakes. I fall, but you never judge me. You just pick me up and dust me off. You know who you are. I just wanted to say…I LOVE YOU!
To all the rest…Isn't it time you said, "Hello?" ;) Sign your name on that certificate!!!!
Eileen Manassian
PS...I know that I'm not the best of friends. I don't always post a comment or ask when someone is missing. I sometimes read for all the wrong reasons, but I still value my friends who overlook all that and love me anyway!
By Then It Be To Late
By Roy Merritt
I suppose it isn’t just people subject to intoxication
If your citizens all taking toxins apt be your nation
How eager a man be to martyr himself for a fool
How easy he lose his morals how easy he be cruel
It could never happen here that’s what I read
At least that’s what the title of Lewis’s book said
But indeed it did a huckster came to power
And led the nation from its principals turned them bitter, sour
H. L. Mencken said it best his words befitting of the times
His opinion of the common man how Mencken him defined
Democracy but a theory the common know his desire
And deserve it good and hard and never to retire
For no man ever went broke that underestimate
The taste of the average man his wont of crude debate
And though full of Puritan lust a fear haunts him long
That some be enjoying his life, family, love and home
Of course they not his words I merely paraphrase
But I think Mencken excuse me if he about these days
Give me some courtesy the benefit of the doubt
I essentially said the same thing he was on about
So lets see what we’ve got after four years of deception
Whether we sober up and develop some true perception
Whether we like many nations recent, in the past
And succumbed to tyranny fall victim to bombast
Many in times of pain when in depths of despair
Will fall for a fool's words and follow him anywhere
Will follow everywhere follow him to their doom
Will follow a lunatic who promise to end their gloom
They’ll follow him down the road follow to the abyss
And none along the way realize something be amiss
We love our leader they declare as poison they imbibe
And drink they will like Socrates the potion of suicide
Oh this hemlock simply fine it does me persuade
And I’ll enjoy every drop of it even unto the grave
But once beneath the ground and he has sealed his fate
He has no chance to recover his senses by then it be to late
Thoughtfulness
Caring
Listen, clarifying
Sincerity and empathy
Happiness for another’s good fortune
Giving benefit of the doubt
Wisely not advising
Considerate
Thoughtfulness
Extending the benefit of the doubt
Means well at all times, looks for the positives
Peacemaking through careful listening; being upbeat
An effort to always work toward the greater good
Trustworthy, honest, open, selfless, caring,
Helping others to find their best self
Enthusiastic cheerleading for others
True caring for friends, relatives, and strangers on the street
Imaginative ways to uplift and inspire others
Clearly shows a love for fellow humans and animals in every action
What gives anyone one the right
to deem others inequal by just one glance
or sight?
Trampling on their rights as if they were
nonexistent, just to prove a point or
make a statement?
The world is still divided in black and white,
forgetting all the other variables that exist,
refusing to give each other the benefit of the doubt,
When inequality makes an appearance,
nothing is ever fair, only assumptions that
cast people out of the loop.
People putting up road blocks
No way to always avoid them
Benefit of the doubt is a burden
Becomes effortless to condemn
Criticism coming too easy if the
System won't align by your design
Exasperation firmly entrenched
When plans don’t fall into line
Our origin story of aggravation
Has roots that are tricky to trace
Making it hard to hold the space
To offer up others proper grace
Can’t change who anyone is
Can alter your own attitude
Lead with acceptance instead
Increasing your emotional latitude
Start to realize instant irritation
Is no longer your default state
The decision rests in your hands
To update how you want to relate
My sadness looks much like your sadness I suspect,
And most do not see the difference in my smile
Because my soul is too frozen these days
To even feel my own emotion
Let alone find the heart
To really empathize with others.
Those leaders who refuse to compromise,
Think that their way is the only Right way, that
Politics, respect for one’s brother has become sin,
I thank you for teaching me to hate all you stand for,
For showing me that true evil is alive and well.
There is no benefit of the doubt for anyone
Who does not vote with other lemmings,
As they goose step like the little fascists they are,
Christ killers all, so fearful of God’s judgement
That they would crucify Christ all over again,
To protect themselves from the enigma
Of God’s Grace, from salvation in Christ’s blood.
I am sick to death of your hypocritical smugness,
Of your self-serving Biblical justifications for selling
Your own flesh and blood into slavery in Egypt,
Of your willingness to see your own daughters
Die of cancer someday as your judgement
That their God given sexuality is a mortal sin,
Of your belief that your interpretation of the Bible
Is Gospel, and God himself needs fear your judgement.
My brothers, I fear deeply for your souls,
Do not judge but suggest that you are
Your own worst enemies.
If every man is a sinner, and falls short of God’s glory,
If you are ordered by the Bible to witness
To the fallen, and thus be open to being witnessed to,
If any of this convicts you of the evil that lives in you,
I would invite you, my brother,
To discuss this with me over lunch
Sometime in the very near future.
Brian Johnston
February 9, 2016
Better safe than sorry?
Fallacy.
I say, better sorry than safe.
Even if brought, calamity.
Safe never dreams.
Safe never changes.
Safe found no new thing, new places,
a new people's strangeness.
New cultures, new stars, new planets.
Safe hides in fortified sameness.
Safe only discovered a sandy smile.
Flightless, oversized bird that it is.
Safe killed a man.
Could have made them miss.
His safe mate cowered.
Under cover.
Only to discover,
mortality, by a bullet's 'dis'.
Safe never found truth of love.
It only starved for affection.
Cradled warm as an egg.
Guarding against insurrection.
Yet unwilling to leave a crack,
it incubates....
The chick always born too late.
Safe never won.
Safe never even begun.
Safe never took the winding path.
Safe stayed true.
Safe finished the race last,
never having run.
Uneven surface ahead.
Safe didn't want to stumble.
So Safe walked.
Even as the heart began to crumble.
It's tears flowed,
as the organ wailed its beaten note.
It wanted to swim deep and fast.
Not paddle warily slow,
templar, hidden in the moat.
"Don't count your chickens
before they hatch."
"....benefit of the doubt."
"Nobody's perfect."
"Until you walk a mile...."
"Well, you know what you should do."
..................nah.
I'll eat them before they fall!
Some people are just dismal,
acting levelly and small.
I am. Because I am me!
Just as you are, too!
I'll do me and you do you.
Sound fair?
Choose and live your truth.
On my turn, I'll take the dare.
I reiterate.
I'll run that mile,
because I might be late.
And yes, I do know.
What I decide, will be my fate.
Better that than safe.
Safe won't get me there.
Not now, not ever.
Not at Safe's rate.
Safe is another word for...
Afraid.
And that, my dear people,
will never climb life's grade.
But please..take your safety.
Your fear.
Lay them here.
At my feet.
I'll need something to step on.
The cliff I'm going for
is beautiful,...but steep.
-Angel Fatale-
Have you ever tried, no REALLY tried
to not sneeze
to not scratch
I did, if I said no, I would have lied
But in doing so, all attention
in your head
in your body
goes into focus on prevention
You can't do anything else anymore
All muscles
In action
To stop you.... All of your body feels sore
***
Tourette is a strange inhabitant
I didn't invite him, he just stays
I can suppress him, for just a little while
Hold him under, keep him away
The worst is feelings of shame
for a condition I cannot control
And the terrible bullying
Wounding my very soul
So please if you meet someone strange
Don't just discard them at first sight
Try to be patient, benefit of the doubt?
And know about their internal fight
If you manage, only for a little while?
You made this little person smile :)
***
March 4, 2017
© Darren White