Poetry of Truth

Poetry is so powerful, and from it we can learn and teach. We can learn to be humble, and we can learn to be strong. Today I want to share two poems with you. The first is "The Cookie Thief" which has a powerful message about sharing and self-righteousness. The second is a poem by written by me "In The Gutter" inspired by a flower I found growing in a roadside gutter.

Valerie Cox called The Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,

With several long hours before her flight.

She hunted for a book in the airport shops.

Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,

That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be.

Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,

Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock,

As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,

Thinking, “If I wasn't so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too,

When only one was left, she wondered what he would do.

With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,

He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,

She snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother.

This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude,

Why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled,

And sighed with relief when her flight was called.

She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,

Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat,

Then she sought her book, which was almost complete.

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise,

There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair,

The others were his, and he tried to share.

Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,

That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

In The Gutter

As I lay in the gutter

Among the dirt and the waste

I heard someone mutter

How disgusting and base

But I felt no shame 

Of my starting place

I laid no blame

Only looked deep inside

Then held my head high

And smiled at the sun

From the dirt and darkness

The blossoming begun