Listen Linda

It’s actually untitled but…

“The push the pull—it’s a struggle idiotic.

The rise and fall—they’ll call you moronic.

Then left for dead—then your also psychotic.

But forgiveness is an accepted tonic.

As clearly as a cloudy sky we look to for God for a Lullaby.

For a song to sing to a babes first cry.

Then push and shove—again—it’s a battle of wits.

And they say they saw you as an innocent.

Then took weapons to arms as if your pain was deliberate.

When the truth is their the cruelest of hypocrites.

This brings us down to something more dominant.

Wait for the moment when their mouths grow quiet.

Because true faith is only seen in true moments of silence.”

Let me help make this make sense:

When I wrote this poem a little over almost 18 years ago, I wanted it to carry a raw intensity, layering emotions of struggle, betrayal, redemption, and faith.

It’s a piece about conflict and resilience, forgiveness and reflection, spiritual longing, and hypocrisy and judgement, then finally silence and truth.  It’s like an accusation and a revelation. A battle between human cruelty and the search for something purer.

The opening lines –the push the pull—it’s a struggle idiotic. The rise and fall they’ll call you moronic—I wanted to give the image of an exhausting cycle, a battle between external forces and internal resilience. There’s always frustration in the repetitive nature of struggle, where one’s efforts are dismissed, mocked, or misunderstood.

Then with the accusation of “Then left for dead—then you’re also psychotic.” Is a point expressing on society’s cruelty—how suffering is not only ignored but actively dismissed with judgement, labeling people as unstable rather than recognizing their pain.

I created a shift with, “But forgiveness is an accepted tonic.” Because I feel that forgiveness should be presented as something necessary, even medicinal, yet the unspoken irony is that does it truly heal, or is it merely an expectation placed upon the wounded?

I wanted to capture a spiritual yearning with the line, “As clearly as a cloudy sky we look to God for a lullaby.” I wanted to express the desire for comfort, wanting reassurance, wanting a divine presence to ease the burdens. Because the uncertainty in Faith is always a recurring theme; a cloudy sky symbolizes the difficulty of seeing beyond pain, yet the instinct to turn to something greater remains.

So, I wanted to revel the human contradictions in, “The push and shove—again—it’s a battle of wits. And they say they say you as an innocent.” Because it expresses deception, people claim innocence but act with harm. “Then took weapons to arms as if your pain was deliberate.” I wanted to describe how our society views pain as self-inflicted, rather than understanding its roots.

But here’s the kicker, “When the truth is they’re the cruelest of hypocrites.” Because a lot of times those who ‘claim’ righteousness, justice, or purity may be the ones inflicting the most harm. From my point of view anyway.

And here’s my dominate truth of all of it ”wait for a moment when their mouths grow quiet. Because true faith is only seen in true moments of silence.”

I wanted to express a power in this idea, because truth is not found in loud declarations, but in quiet convictions. The silence only strips away performance and leaving only the sincerity of it all.

I like to think that this pulses with an intensity. That it captures the raw frustration of being judged, the hypocrisy of those who condemn, and the search for peace in something greater than human failings. I have it layered with emotions of anger, grief, exhaustion, but also wanted to express a deep desire for clarity, faith, and truth.

Ultimately, I like to think this piece carries the weight of betrayal, disillusionment, and a search for something real beyond the noise of false righteousness.

And like all things I write about I either feel, think, or have personal experience with. And with this one its’s very personal. I hope this helps.

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