Bodhi Designs - a gift

The beautiful Fleassy Malay from Bodhi Designs surprised me with this little gift today - what a gorgeous sentiment and a cool way to show some of my poetry. I love it!! What do you think?

Tall Poppies

in a land of tall poppies
       the rains flood our riverbanks with shame

a girl who could not embody her name
thinking it crazy her parents should call her
                                                                      Bella
she tells no one what she sees in the mirror

a young fella racing around the house
like a madman
         reprimanded for his enthusiasm
gorwing up
resenting his children

of families who sweep all the hard talks
         under the carpet
then wonder why they can't walk
                                                    straight

we have a global epidemic of shame

you know when you hate yourself but
can't say a thing?
                             thats shame
or when you're suffering, thinking your friends
only want your happy face
                             thats shame
or when some unimaginable trauma
has hit you in the face
and you continue to blame yourself
                             thats shame

let me tell you something friends,
at 4am on the night of a woman's 60th
she tripped down the stairs,            knocked herself on the head
broke her arm in two places
                                  and went back to bed                bleeding
                                   in shame
thinking her family would frame her a drunk
or out    of    control       character

what black hearts have we if our mothers cannot
share hurts                  for fear of their offsprings
judgement

i met a thirteen year old girl so ashamed of her gender
in a world of men
that she                preferred to stay in bed
rather than dress on up for them

an old man who'd lived his whole life
                            pretending he loved women
collecting wrinkles
like linen
shameful his heart lay
                            among men instead

my own sister-in-law lets others believe
she is from Paraguay, Belize or Brazil,
                   not Lebanon
for which she receives ridicule
for which she receives suspicion
                   when she should be met with veneration for
                   her humanitarian aide in the orphanages

in a land of tall poppies
                   we are quick to let them die
teach them to reach up to the sky
before showing it as an illusion / a lie

there was a man on the street kneeling under glares
and raindrops
                   a sign held as he looked for the light in our eyes
don't judge me said the sign

what has humankind become?
         when we condemn our brothers to their coming undone
         when we bully our sisters and hurt them for our own amusement
         when we hush the children, angry at their freedom of expression
         when we let our neighbours hate the very bodies that they walk in
the force of shame escapes no one
for long enough

but we will remain steadfast in our masks of confidence
until we're not pretending         anymore

i want to even the score / here / tonight
let it be known
that
you are perfect

as you are

family

and through it all
i stand starstruck
                 there is
                 much too much to say
and only 26 letters in
the way we communicate

you have held my
hate for you
tenderly, willing back to life
the breath of a dying lung
mending that broken-winged heart
little bird

at my worst you gave me
compassion
un
conditional
love
at the very moment
i
gave
up
on
you

maybe thats the point of
b r e a k / throughs
                 broken / f a m i l y

like a bone
it mends
eventually
scar tissue still
pulsing
remembering the
c. r. a. c. k.

how fickle my young heart
what shame do i harbour
for its passions

drown in a puddle
i told myself
make that puddle of sweat and
tears
but you the rainbow
came glistening
you the sunshine, dried my feet
the reflection on the pavement
distant
memory

and suddenly
we were laughing so hard
my sides ached
we came back
eventually

my disbelief
r e i g n i n g
could we love
eachother
that much/?
could it be..

e v i c t

e•vict (ɪˈvɪkt)
to expel; to force out; to throw out

it was hardly a
s h o c k
the rocks began to crumble
around the same time
we threw out our furniture
let the telly loose
and started wearing onesies
a l l   t h e   t i m e

we don't buy
v e g e t a b l e s
anymore
we mostly pick them up
off the floor of a skip bin
somewhere
winning against the
wasteful west
somehow
and plowing through
bulk
e x p e r i m e n t a l
cooking

i hope they didn't see the
b i l l y
it's a pretty silly reason to evict someone
its really just a bit of fun
and harms nobody
in the long run
or
m a y b e
they saw my paintings
with marks left all over
walls, courtyards, stones
I'm prone to mess
s o m e t i m e s

i will miss the memories
hidden in the flaking walls
there's water damage from
tears of laughter
after we all woke up
t o g e t h e r
forever huddled in a multi
y i n - y a n g
of spooning
there's years of history
or more importantly
f a m i l y
here

i will miss our neighbours
the ones who cheered for
a g e s
when they heard
c a m e r o n
play his first art party
the ones who stood at our gate
waiting for the song to end
before inviting themselves in
those who jumped on a
m a t t r e s s
with us
creating instant
housematery

let's wait and see
it may be time
to cut the cord
umbilical brothers
and sisters roared
the amniotic washes away
a new day rises up
and we toddle further forward
step by blessed step
as we glorify the birth of
the day we all met

now that the womb
evicts us
where will we end up next?

I don't know my dear ones
come,
suckle at life's breast
remember the best
t h i n g s in life
are those openly
e x p r e s s e d
we will find a new nest
we will welcome new hearts
for you can't destroy an idea
and you can't destroy the arts

Peace x Love x Art x