Category: Writers Block
I originally wrote this on 2 August and forgot to post it here.
25 to Life: or My Prison
The trial was only make-believe,
held when I was first conceived.
There was no record of a crime,
just a sentence of indefinite time.
My prison cell is portable,
the walls are made of air.
I beg and beg to be released,
but no one seems to care.
My meals are good the yard is big,
they say I think alot.
But when darkness is your only friend,
your brain is all you've got.
I tried nine times for an appeal,
one time I almost succeeded.
But that heavy handed judge of mine,
made sure I was defeated.
And so I sit in this prison cell,
and hear the world go by.
And every day to The Gods I pray,
and sometimes ask them why.
Sometimes it's really not that bad,
I almost feel I'm free.
But then the sounds and sights of life,
they come to torture me.
I try to find a job but fail,
no one will hire a woman in jail.
I'd like to see the sun one day,
I hear that it is fine.
But for now I guess that I must stay,
in this prison of the blind.
Waiting for the Brainport to release me part-time. lol Hopefully, I'll get in the study.
I like that a lot. Good job. I can relate to it. smiles
Thanks. *smile*
Although I don't feel the same way, I do like this poem. You've good diction and a nice rhyme scheme.
agreed with Raven. I don't feel that way at all, and am sorry for those that do.
lol
Feel bad for you...nope, this innocent has a happy life for now.
Well dunno if you intended it this way but now I have some idea what it's like ffor someone who's upset at being a lifer. I wouldn't say I'm 'happy' or 'content' with being blind, just indifferent about it for now.
There are times when I'm indifferent to it too. This was especially the case when I was younger. Mom was the one who wanted me to see. It never really mattered to me, though it was a nice thought. But the older I get, the more important it's becoming, from the stupid little things to the bigger ones.
I'm sorry, but this is just so overly negative and depressing...
and i'm sorry if this offends, but it sounds like one of those shameful things that a charety for the blind would use as something to try and get donations from people who feel sorry for the poor blindies....
thank you, Loui; agreed 100%.
Two peas in a pod. If you don't like it, don't read it. And hey, if you want to donate, I'll gladly take your money, but that wasn't the point of my post. I guess you've never ever felt frustrated about being blind. Perhaps, you can write about what a perfect life all blind people have, how everyone should be blind and how we can do anything, even fly to the moon, if we want and just believe in ourselves.
And let me be clear. I don't mind criticism about my writing itself. Sometimes, I write good poems and sometimes, I write lousy ones. It just seems that some people can't comprehend how blindness can be difficult at times, even though they themselves are blind. I honestly don't get that. You don't want to see, that's fine. I don't understand it but I respect it as your decision. But how can you honestly say that you don't get it or say that it's too negative? Firstly, these are my feelings not your's. Secondly, I also said that I don't always feel this way. But it's in the nature of humanity to vent, particularly those who, supposedly, would be able to understand more than the average individual.
*What* charity for the blind? I don't see anyone out with cups anymore. Nobody ties brooms, sells pencils, picks cotton or works for the Great White Massah. Them days are gone.
life is all what you make of it; that's all Loui and I are saying. sure it has its ups and downs, but you can choose to play the victim, or take the high road regardless of what you're dealt.
sure I've felt frustrated, but I've actually never felt the need to write about it, or draw my friends attention to how difficult it can be.
actually, when people draw my own attention to how difficult it 'must' be, I make a point of drawing them away from the idea that it's such a hard life being blind to all the positives in my life.
and there are still chareties around the world trying to make money and exploiting blind people.
the Lion's club, who I will never ever associate myself with again because they're a bunch of hypocrits, and various guide dogs associations just to name a few are such people who get a lot of money out of exploiting blind people and making it look like they are so amazing and have such difficult lives and things to overcome.
I don't like it at all when people get deceived by anyone or anything.
Guide dog groups? That's a tall order. I'd always heard those dogs because of their training are very expensive dogs, like police or rescue canines. But people think what they think irrespective of what one person does. Inspiration and higher consciousness and all that, they're just the modern opium of the masses. And I thought Lions club bought people Braille writers and stuff. Hypocrites are everywhere.
to poster1 i can relate to your poem to.
it makes me sad.
got to run! i don't want to be depress anymore!
Yeah, we've gone from the days of only being able to do blind trades to ones where even mentioning them is practically a crime and learning them is next to impossible! Just because someone writes a poem of sadness doesn't automatically mean that he/she is playing the victim, as you put it. We're only playing human. I'd forgotten that us blindies are really emotionless robots. I've been a writer of things since the fifth grade. I write about the anguish and the pride that my country gives me, about the happiness of love and sex, about life in general. So for me, it's only natural to write about the other side of blindness, and to share it with my friends. Why should I pretend that everything is always rosey and happy. I'm sure they have their own trials and tribulations, and yes, many of them write about it in various ways. So why not me? Addmittedly, I don't know much about The Lion's Club but I do know that they really try to help the blind. They donate things and help with other services. Is there corruption and do some people pocket money? Yes, I'm sure of it. But that happens everywhere. What's wrong with a group that simply wants to help people? Not everyone in the world is selfish. And yes, guide dogs are very expensive. I'm sorry to those whom I've depressed. I just wanted to share my views on the other side of the coin because I felt that they needed to be posted. Usually, it's Greek politics that depresses me not blindness. *smile*
Because this is in Writers Block, I'm only going to comment on the writing. Like Raven said, very good rhyme scheme, and very good use of metaphors.
Thank you. It just sort of flowed out of me.
Some of you who are saying that this is a poem wallowing in self-pity should really take a step back and think about what you're saying. Just because someone chooses to write about the hardships that come along with blindness doesn't mean they feel sorry for themselves about it. Of course it might sound that way if you think it does, but look at it this way. If you got cancer, became paralyzed in an accident, were suddenly struck with a mental illness, or experienced the death of someone close to you, would you not feel the need to vent about it, even if you had a resilient attitude? I'm not by any means wishing this stuff on anybody, simply making a point. And my point is this: life is hard. There is a circumstance in everyone's life that they feel complicates things, frustrates them, etc. and these are normal emotions. I feel that the general movement of society seems to be going towards a world where any expression of negative emotions is viewed as weakness, something to be spit upon, and that's terrible. I feel that pressure every day, but you don't see me buckling under the weight of conformity just because it's the cool thing to do. It's hard, it sucks, and a lot of people might think I'm weird and not like others of my age group, but you know what, fuck them. I'm beginning to realize that the hand we're dealt in life, no matter how shitty it seems at times, is what it is and we need to make the best of it. Does that mean I don't swing to the other side of the spectrum about it sometimes? Of course not, especially since I've had depression for as long as I can remember, and my down times can be quite painful and hopeless. But in the end, it's something I have to live with, just as my blindness is. So next time you think someone is feeling sorry for themselves because of a condition or illness or whatever, think of how you'd feel if you had no one to vent to and you felt you really needed it, or were experiencing a particularly low point in your life.
Huge hugs to you screaming_turtle. Very well said. And even if, for a moment, someone does feel sorry for him/herself, what's wrong with that. It's a human emotion, after all. The only problem arises when they can't get out of it and move on with their lives.
the lion's club might do that, but they don't allow blind people to participate in a lot of their programs. in many ways they do treat us like we're second class citizens.
yes, they are very expenseve dogs, but they shouldn't be fooling the public into feeling sorry for us just so those who think they need a dog can get one.
I'm sorry you take that view, turtle; this is totally an example of someone wallowing in self pity. to each their own, though; it's your life, after all.
And I'm sorry you think that just because you've overcome so much it gives you the right to lose empathy. If I remember right, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you are an abuse survivor, is that right? But instead of taking that experience and developing a deeper understanding of others, you, and many others I've known in my life, take their negative experiences and become jaded by them. I'm not claiming to be perfect by any means, and I don't think you are either, but I do feel for others who are in pain, or who express a less-than-popular viewpoint, and I feel sorry for those who haven't mastered that skill.
I seriously disagree with you SwissGriff and I'll illustrate.
I know several who have guide dogs and they don't do that.
In fact, they act like my friend who owns a rescue canine, a bloodhound actually, which is used to sniff out lost people in the woods.
Is he getting attention because it happens to be in his truck and we stop for beers / people wanta see it? I don't think so: he has to drill with it all the time apparently, they go out in parties and stuff to practice.
While guide dogs are more one-on-one I don't see the complaint: they're just doing what other people who have trained canines do. To me, the organizations that train them are no different than the ones that train rescue dogs or anything else. It's just because they're blind some don't like it I guess.
I mean I'll never have one as a. I don't like dogs much, and b. I'd rather trust myself than something quite a bit far down on the evolutionary chain to do something complex like guiding. But people use them, and the ones I know who do are not at all like you describe.
I'm not jaded by things I experience; quite the contrary, actually. if you'd get to know me, you'd see that I use what some would deem as shitty experiences to fuel me to do my best.
anyway, I'm not gonna argue; we'll just agree to disagree, I guess.
I'm talking about the organisations who provide them, who need money from people, and the best way they can get money from people is by advertising campaigns.
many is the time that I've seen one of their sickening ads on the tv portraying a blind person who is now so independent once she has received her dog and can do oh-so much more all because of the guide dogs association. the ads seem to portray us as pathetic individuals who couldn't do anything for ourselves before some organisation gave us a dog.
yes of course it gets them the money they need, but it does little for the people who do not want or need dogs in the view of the public, who view us as fragile unfortunate beings who must want so much to have a dog, bless them. *gags*
The media loves to make huge, miracle stories out of us too. See my locked in a plane story, and many others for details.