A perfect suit and a well-trimmed beard,
All decent he was, but only with no shoes.
All I could think about was, why’s he so weird?
A few streets away,
A rugged man walked with a pair he didn’t choose.
In an elegant and sophisticated restaurant
Was a clumsy man with more than a word to fail,
Oh! He shouldn’t be let in when he’s so arrogant,
What can he do, when he spent the last 25 years in jail.
A dusky evening and in a very dusty street,
Begging for food, was a young boy with a scar.
Uhh! Education would have made him decent and neat,
Little did they know that he was a remnant of the War.
So many Lives,
So many Stories,
So many People,
So many Judgments...
Don’t cast the first Stone, don’t look out for flaws.
Try to be that Rolling Stone, that gathers no Moss.
JD, A Stone now, but trying to Roll...
Just as you would suppose,
Unleased hatred only grows.
Do lash out, I’m sure you’ll see
God gives this freedom to you and me.
Mind your soul to heal the hate.
Enlighten your path before it’s too late.
Note your actions and words, if you will
That your hate will ever be still.
All that anger held inside
Looms from within, not outside.
Your hesitancy
is observed yet overlooked,
since love in your heart’s not bloomed.
Perhaps it’s a test,
as of our soul agreement,
which we merely here enact?
Take a church full of sinners with issues galore,
each needing profoundly the grace of the Lord.
Some trapped in addiction, some weighed down in sin,
some struggling with faith, some who tried but gave in.
Some filled with anger and some with regret,
some who cannot forgive, but there’s one group I fret -
the judgmental crowd. They make it so tough,
thinking they have no sin or that they’re good enough.
And I wish that were all but it’s not for I find,
they poison the whole for they’re willfully blind.
Doing all that they must to protect the charade,
ranking sins amongst others and handing out shame.
Handcrafting a culture that turns out to be,
in direct opposition to what sinners need.
A place to be open, a place to confess,
a place to find comfort, a place to find rest.
A place to find Christ and the healing He gives.
A place to start over, but somehow this lives
in the culture of church after church I observe.
I guess human nature just can’t be deterred.
For it seems to be common despite where I go -
the part poisons all, no one stops it and so
the judgmental crowd wins and history repeats
where they end up the only ones… left in the seats.
You asked what fueled such angst
As though therapy lay wait
But as I told my story
Your smile dissolved before my eyes;
And I thought with much surprise
Moonshine could be my friend
Your words floated like ice
Yet my simmered soul stayed bubbly.
You seemed to know my husband
So snug you sat lecturing
And as I held to my story
You said, "...you do you, and he, him."
Morning became electric
You eased up testing waters
I hugged a natural high
While boomerang had you bowing.
*
Egocentric, engaged in games of one-upmanship
I developed a jaundiced and judgmental eye
Over time, losing over mind-body my grip
Belied expectations oft made heart sigh
My reflex response was to put others down
Mocking both the living and dead, saw love die
Lines on face hardened, sarcasm bore a frown
Demonic dreams deepened my dark despair
In images thus conjured, I began to drown
It was a Joro spider that made me aware
When a small sunbird was caught in its net
Defying base instinct, it released her with care
I took this as a message to change my mindset
Enabled simply by melding head with heart
Taking no more, mere rebuffs as a threat
I now mock myself; it is a learnt art
Choosing slow consciousness correction
Simply mindfully and gently, adding love to cart
Soul centric introspection cajoles us to shift direction
Igniting bliss within, paving way for soul’s resurrection
Recognition non-judgmental accepts,
Respecting journey of each soul presence.
Arms open in embrace, love stands erect,
Gently steering other in playfulness,
Subtle fragrance of childlike innocence.
No evil in any is resident;
Aberrations we see, misalignment.
In timeless time all align as ordained,
With love sublime in joyful contentment,
Unifying with God, pure and unstained.
15-October-2020
I tire of reading and listening to
Those using their quill and ink to bring pain
If they do not have their same point of view.
Does it relieve their pain? What do you gain?
Vengeful actions of judgmental people
And haters is demeaning and it does
Influence how we see and judge evil.
Back off! No more! You're an overnight buzz.
8/8/2020
Inflictions Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Silent One
"Why do you stand and stare,at that girl over there? So judgemental,and oh so cruel,you have no right to ridicule! CNNshe looks so diffrent,she stands out,you have no right to point and shout,just remember she has feelings too,that girl over there oneday could be you! She has a story of her own,behind that smile she stands alone,why dont you approach her,why dont you say,hi how are you and hows your day"....
The plum blossom and snow don’t give up in competing for the early spring,
In judgmental dilemma, poets have to put down their pen without concluding.
The plum blossom is not so sparkling and white as the snow radiance,
Whereas the snow loses to the plum blossom in the delicate fragrance.
(tran.)
Please don't try to judge someone
By the cover of their book
You really don't know whom they are
By the way that they might look
You might see something on their front page
That opens up your eye
It just might be that the one you've judged
Is just like you and I
Things can look the other way
it's happened once or twice
The one you've judged and thought was kind
May not have been so nice
So I hope I taught you something
That I hope you won't forget
Try not to be judgmental
To the person you've just met
(I think this is how Robert Lindley will reply, if at all...)
I wonder why you'd hate me,
Maybe because I'm kindly,
But you don't irritate me,
I will not judge you blindly...
You can't stop me from writing,
I won't stoop to distress you,
I forgive your backbiting,
And just say, "May God bless you!"
11/22/17
Contest: Judgmental people and haters
Sponsor: Brenda Chiri
(Those who know Robert Lindley can vouch for his kindheartedness, friendliness and encouraging words to everyone.... And those who hate him, I can only say, "The loss is yours".)
Judgmental people and haters
rise on the internet like mashed masked potatoes,
complaining and cajoling point of words and rhetoric
while lying low in their own hidden shtick.
The voices, text trembles, lost in malignant words
with anger, hate, scorn, disapproving chords,
become acceptable display of thought on speech set free
exempt for theirs and similar company.
Politically incorrect thought exuding malaise
of who can speak or write in poeticly accepted phrase,
freedom and equality lag far behind and suffer
when folks fail to use their mind and not their tongue as buffer.
Don'y judge me harshly
the words I may express less smartly,
are in my heart and on my mind
with rapture and obsession to be kind.
I seal a kiss of blessings away from traitors
away from judgmental people and haters.
I am weary of reading and listening
to people using their pen to cripple, bringing
pain and suffering to other living souls.
I ask what their goal is to cast hot coals.
The vengeful dishonesty to incriminate
just makes us accumulate and abominate
the actions of the judgmental people and haters.
That is no way to behave, like mud swamp gators
because it seems to be conveyed that way.
Stop and surrender your brawling and say, "Nay!"
Back off! No more! Stay away!
11/8/2017
Don’t get down because of haters hating,
use it as motivation to shove your success in their face.
I can no longer hold my tongue
I’ve got my knockers and my mockers
Oh, and I can’t forget the blockers
So you badmouth me on FB behind my back
Let rip with your vitriol and go on the attack
With your false humility and humble claims
You are chock full of bull crap, playing games
Well…
I’m telling you this
Stop taking the piss
Here is my butt. I'd be remiss
if I didn't offer it for you to kiss
Go ahead skunk; make my day
release your stinking spray!
Oh, there's just one thing I have to say...
I don’t do 'two-faced book' anyway!
Judgmental people and haters contest
sponsored by Brenda Chiri
A note to whoever is being so nasty to Robert … you must be jealous of his talent for writing poetry and you should be ashamed of your behaviour!
08-11-17
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