A Single Syllable – #PoetryforChange #Poetrychallenge

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“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.”

-Edgar Allan Poe

Do we truly ever stop to consider just how far and wide our words and musings travel?  How often do we say things before we consider the lasting effect those words may have, on others or on our own lives?  Can we grasp the powerful truth that what we speak becomes our reality?

I have listened over the past months to all the raucous noise of hatred and intolerance flooding our media; of friends dividing from friends and loved ones from loved ones over matters that are fleeting, but I have not raised my voice to join the chorus.

Rumi said:  “Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”

How right he was, for the Power of our words, whether spoken or written, create change, instill impressions, teach lasting lessons, and take root.  I recently stumbled across my own words, which I use on Facebook as part of my profile introduction, and had to pause.

Words are spoken, heard, seen, felt and dreamed.

Indeed they are!  In this hour, when unleashed anger spills over our world, near and far; how will we choose to use our words?  Will we Build or destroy?  Will we mock or Encourage?  Will we take aim with Positive or negative energy?  For myself, for my writing and the consequence of the same, I will strive to unleash Harmony.  Compassion.  Tolerance.

“All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

Human beings are blessed with the rare gift of language, but they are also blessed with a gift called conscience.  Regardless of whether you believe in an afterlife or not; heedless of the truth of Karma or the possibility of having to answer for our every action in some measure, the simple reality, in my humble opinion, is this:  what we say; notwithstanding how we say it, has a consequence.  My words, written or spoken, will have an effect on someone, somewhere, in some manner, and I do not flout that responsibility.  Certainly I feel strongly about this or that, but I do not presume I know enough to say that I am right and someone else is wrong.

What if we are all wrong?  What if the only Power on Earth and in the vast cosmos over our heads is the Potent Power of a single syllable?  What happens if the indelible connection we refuse to accept is the simplest and most complex notion of all.

Love.

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The Touch of Love is seen in the Miraculous as well as the Simple,
In the Drops of Water upon a newborns head,
In the Benediction o’er a Final Resting Place;
The Touch of Love is Bread in our Hands
And Wine on our Lips,
In Prayers offered beside the sickbed
And in Joyful Laughter at the birth of Life;
The Touch is in the Understanding and Patience Spoken to a Troubled Youth,
And in the Sincere Help offered to One in Need,
It is Heard in the Promise of Unconditional Love
And the Warm Embrace or Handclasp extended to a Stranger.
The Touch of Love is known in the grinding bit of a drill
Searching for Fresh Water In a Forgotten Village,
And in a coverlet offered to a refugee, lost and alone.
The Gentle Touch of Love is Shared through words of Encouragement
To One depressed, discouraged or grieving,
And Through the Compassion of Empathy conveyed
By a Wordless Nod or Gaze.
The Touch of Love is Extended to Each of Us and Shared Through All of Us,
To The World In Need.

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I invite you to JOIN ME in Creating Positive Change through poetry.

Whether you opt for Free Verse, Form, Narrative, or Visual Poetry, I hope you will take up this simple challenge to post once a week about something you BELIEVE needs to be changed.

Please use the hashtag #PoetryforChange and spread the word by reblogging and retweeting your post and others with the same tag.

Let’s make the world a better place!

With Hope for Harmony,

~Morgan~

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Poem inspired and written in conjunction with Pastor Robert Kehrli