Poetic Justice

Listen

It's easy to say what you think,
Before thinking about saying it.
Words come out like waterfalls and rivers,
Pouring and filling empty landfills.

But do you ever think to listen?
Not to birds or the wind,
Not to the ocean when your eyes are closed
But to the people around you.

Perhaps if we were a nation,
That listened rather than spoke,
Peace wouldn't be such a faraway dream.

Have you ever cared to take note,
When someone spoke to you,
But you brushed them off with your own words,
A few seconds later,
Their tones are high pitched,
As they hold back their tears.

Do you care to take in all the laughter?
Perhaps if you did,
You'd realise not all the laughs were real,
Some are only cries,
Cries of hiding true emotion.

What about the things you were told?
"I hate my life." She said,
But you laughed a few seconds later,
What if you held onto her words,
For only a moment longer,
You'd realise that her tone had been Serious,
Not at all to be a joke,
As you thought she intended.

But here's something we never listen to,
We don't listen to our own words,
As we pass it on from one to another.
To us they are meaningless jokes,
Words that don't take space in our minds,
But what if those same words,
That were to be taken in a playful manner,
Scarred hearts that smiled along
Disdainfully.

Perhaps if we stopped hearing,
And started listening,
Just maybe,
The world wouldn't be so blind to emotions
And so deaf to screams dedicated to the night.

(A/n: Just me ranting, as usual. Whatdja think?
Xoxo,
Nikita)