In the Deep

This one was hard.
I don't like to write negative or less-than-positive things.
My purpose in this short little dash of a lifetime is to uplift, to support, to love, to guide, to hold, to offer hope.
Sometimes, however, in the spirit of mental health month, one has to expel the ugly that is (or is trying to) residing within them in order to move past it. This poem is that expulsion.
It was inspired by the truthful, sad sight of the first two lines. The rest just fell on paper.
I will always keep my chin up and knees down.
Sometimes, things are heavy.
We have to learn to do what we are able to improve what's around us and leave the rest of that luggage where it sits. This one is not easy to read, nor is it terribly pleasant, but it is truth.


In the Deep
by Lyn Marinello 5/26/22

Sitting on an overpass, shirtless and shoeless
People simply speeding by absolutely clueless
Tiny, fragile humans crushed and shredded before birth
Without a moment's thought as to their value or their worth
Sweet angelic children gunned down within a class
Whole entire peoples disregarded woefully en masse
Fractured, shattered families give way to fractured, shattered lives
Men raised void of boundaries lead to frightened, battered wives
Mouths that go unfed. Hearts that go un-mended
Souls that sink to suicide because basic needs were left untended
The easy road is taken no thought to accidents in our wake
Apologies are rarities in owning up to our mistakes
We accept the unacceptable; are outraged less and less
Expect the folks behind us to exorcise our mess
We have stopped communicating; stand bold behind keyboard rants
The listening has ceased as we stand unflinching in our stance
We care more about our opine than the facts we know exist
Unapproachably adamant; there's not one thing we might have missed
We've built our homes of glass, yet heave bricks in all directions
We're completely unfamiliar with the face in our reflections
Some preach of inclusion, yet won't accept opposing thought
Riot, fight and scream and yell. Deny the lie in which they're caught
Folks are bombed out of their homes, people starving in the street
We're incapable of humility. Emboldened by self-deceit
My heart aches when there is loss, my head yearns for common sense
Answers may be intertwined; often tangled, twisted and intense
You are right and so are you. There is no black or white
Until as simple as the song infers, we're all precious in His sight
I could go on forever. It's a revolving door of faith and fear
There's nothing wrong with thoughts and prayers, nor limitations being clear
I'll be the first one to admit that I'm flawed near beyond repair
I sometimes think morosely when mired in deep despair
I don't know all the answers, but I'm willing to sit and learn
Not to one side or the other, but to all ... then I'll discern
I accept you as you are, pray for each though I may weep
At the Godless world before me as we're treading in the deep