LIFE LABELS LIE
By Artby Jade: Listening as the world goes by,
I see a blur.
Cars flying by.
The noise I hear just a slur.
“Stupid.”
“Dumb.”
“Poor.”
“Ugly.”
“Slow.”
“Fat.”
“Retarded.“
“Good for nothing.”
“A Slut.”
To the heart, each word does cut.
A childlike faith cut off too soon.
Judgements that taint innocence to gloom.
The myth is busted,
because it’s not only sticks and stones
anymore that can break our bones.
We don’t realize
what our words jeopardize.
The price
our two-edged tongue can slice in one‘s life.
Each word brings one down,
closer to the ground,
heaping up the mound.
These words create doubt
about what we are about.
They scream out insecurity…
drowning out purity.
They often cause the sincere heart
to hide and dodge a painful dart.
The real life is camouflaged
to the status quo,
leaving us to ponder who is a friend and who is a faux?
We step back to hide from the attack.
Yet you may never know why I walk the way I do;
You've never tried on anothers' shoe.
You may never see
who this persons destined to be.
You just shout out a mocking name.
You may not even purpose to name,
yet, the results are the same.
It’s the pride of man on display.
Others think it’s okay
to do what you do.
They now make fun too.
You’ve built yourself up.
You’ve shown others wassup.
The leader of the pack,
take a step back.
You’re “fly,"
but labels lie.
Yet some words can stick until they die.
It reduces a person of depth and meaning
to a word mimicked in playground teasing.
Demeaning.
What’s meant for a can
shouldn’t be used on a man.
This lifes contents can’t be canned.
They can’t be judged on demand.
I’m jumping out of the box
as the clock tocks.
I won’t be confused, reduced, recycled, or reused.
I am unique, special and true.
I’m through.
You know what they say, “Your rubber. I’m glue.
Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks…"
Wait, what’s the next part?
Oh yeah, “To you?”
Well, now what good would that do?
What a hypocrite I would be.
In forgiveness, I too, want you to be free...
A bird out of a cage,
ridden of rage.
To be a "tough" one no more,
But able to adore.
Labels replaced...
individually embraced.
May you be blind to see all but the unique beauty of humanity.
Cans only in the store. Each life is worth so much more.