Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Truth




We die slowly every day,
we juggle our days,
spinning hours away,
moments of epiphany,
moments of despair,
on autopilot.
Hours laced with routine
and responsibilities,
while we bury our desires.
Dentist appointments,
grocery shopping,
playdates.
I hunt for a tomato,
I smell one and then another,
until I smell the sweet scent.
I close my eyes and wonder.
We juggle while we wish to save the world,
save the dolphins,
save the oceans,
save ourselves.
We die a little more,
holes in our hearts,
emptiness we cannot fill,
band aids to social issues we can't solve.
We strive to save the world,
while we die a little more.
The game room at the pediatric dentist office
diverts the children with electronic games.
Mothers on their iPhone,
distracted while paying one hundred sixty dollars
for teeth cleaning,
while five miles away there are
children that come to school with empty bellies.
Hungry for the free lunch that will sustain them
for another day.
We die a little everyday.
 
 

103 comments:

  1. dang...this is awesome ayala...some hard truth in it as well...we die a little more each day..struggling forward, for ourselves, for others...so many struggling...really a moving piece...

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    1. Thank you, Brian. Glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate it.

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  2. Wow, hard to bear yet so true. I feel like this often, it spins so fast and some days I get dizzy. Fantastic work.

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  3. True thoughts ayala...we do get caught up in the day to day, die a little every day...thinking alike here--I wrote a piece recently in the same vein.

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  4. You have spoken truth here, Ayala. We are involved in the ordinary, have our causes that we are passionate about, but still there are those who have so little who live in our midst. Powerful statement here.

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    1. Mary, so hard to accept that some things will never change and times are so tough for so many.

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  5. So depressing...and yet so true.

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    1. Thank you, Juliana. Hope all is well with you my friend.

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  6. On the one hand, this poem makes me feel sad. On the other, it serves as a reminder that the place to start is with ourselves, to use the every day that we spend dying a little to do what is most meaningful to ourselves and others.

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    1. Gandhi said that the change we want to see in the world should start within us, I believe that's true.

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  7. Oh, this breaks my heart with its truth. For me, the best we can hope for is to also live a little every day. Like that inhale of tomato. That is the essence of it all.

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    1. Thank you, Kelly. We need to live a little every day.

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  8. Yes indeed we do, and as we age, I think we realise our time to change the world is getting shorter and shorter and so hopefully, minute by minute we make out little piece of it that bit better for everyone in our lives or, those who touch it in whatever way. Yes, this is sad for the hungry kids while others have it all, sometimes the ways of the world don't seem at all fair, do they. Very sad, but apt and deeply touching post.

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    1. Thank you, Bren. It's tough because there are so many families suffering out there.

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  9. You sure pull no punches here, and yeah we die a little every second.

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  10. Poignant and authentic. Really liked this poem Ayala.

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  11. Well put...a reminder to live in the present moment!

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  12. "band aids to social issues we can't solve."

    I always feel like I'm doing this. I get so overwhelmed by all the need out there. Sometimes I feel like I am over-empathetic. It's hard to find a balance. Great write :)

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    1. I love what you say here Lori...sometimes it's hard to find the balance.

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  13. very heartfelt ~ it really is unacceptable for children to go hungry anywhere in the world. makes us stop and think and be grateful for what we have. great write, Ayala.

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    1. Thank you....unacceptable is the right word!

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  14. This is so true it hurts. Awesome write, Ayala.

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  15. so sad... but true... nice capture

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  16. Wonderfully done. I think bandaids on social issues are bad, but better also than ignoring them. Your poem highlights that too. k.

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  17. Wow, this is a powerful indictment, Ayala, and painfully true. Well done.

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  18. Yes we do. And very well said. I've traveled about to help where I can, and I leave apart of me at each place. I think its a part of us, and I think it is okay, or at least, I am okay with that. Very nice write!

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    1. Nice that you have traveled and helped, thank you.

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  19. This is beautifully sensitive. If I allow myself, I can get overwhelmed with social issues. So, I try to do the best I can most days, and while I'm dying... give and live.

    Thanks for this writing. It touched my heart.

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  20. I find it ironic that we complain while we have these abundance around us, while some of people in other parts of the world are starving ~ Nice post Ayala ~

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    1. Thank you, Grace. There are hungry children in this country and that's unacceptable.

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  21. I felt like this today and paid $121 for a teeth cleaning (periodontist).

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  22. Quite a lot of food for thought in this one.The world goes on around us and there is so little that is in our control, except our little corner of it. It can be terribly overwhelming, but sometimes changing the world comes one smile, one kind word at a time.

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    1. So true,Ginny. Sometimes it does change one smile at a time..one kind word at a time.

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  23. Ayala, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head with this. Heartfelt piece. You can get your teeth cleaned for $12 dollars, not a bad deal in my book.

    Pamela

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  24. band aids to social issues we can't solve.
    We strive to save the world,
    while we die a little more.

    There are many happenings and goings-on. Each takes something from us and we 'die a little' each time.How true, ayala! Nicely!

    Hank

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  25. 'on autopilot.
    Hours laced with routine
    and responsibilities,
    while we bury our desires.'

    Love this Ayala! So true, so wise.

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  26. great shape poem! Funny that we both wrote about dying today...

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  27. Yes we do, but hopefully we can see it as "we've been given another day to love and experience life"

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  28. to carry on is to triumph with gratitude despite the mystery that life is


    Aloha from Waikiki,

    Comfort Spiral

    > < } } ( ° >

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  29. Yes, we die...with luck, we see a little bit beyond our own constrained horizons (as you've done here) to find a way to keep others from dying even more quickly. Fine writing here.

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  30. We live our lives in the fast lane without seeing what's right in front of our faces. America might be the land of opportunity....but not for all. It's a disgrace that we have so much poverty and politicians that just. don't. get. it.

    A very thought provoking piece.

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  31. i can feel this...somedays we see things and we measure life against life and it's just too much...felt write ayala

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  32. A most sentient piece, reminding us of the closing window...the little time we have to help others, while we become morassed in our own lives and mundane doings. Thoughtful, and sensitive.

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  33. Powerful words Ayla, we focus so much on the trivial things... getting stressed when our gadgets don't work when there are so many important issues... all we can do is our little bit I guess, whinge a little less and be a little more thankful. Great Poem!

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    1. Di, gratitude and reaching out when we can....

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  34. Great power to this, right up to and including the last line.

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  35. why dont we live a little each day instead of dying...
    intense write ayala...

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  36. Pure truth- sums up a lot about the world and our lives thata re over in the blink of eye, and before some of us realise that we have wasted our time

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    1. Thank you, Stu. So much to do and frustrating that we can only do so much.

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  37. Hi Ayala = ) You have such a way... with such truth. What a good write.

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  38. You find poetry in the thoughts that jamb themselves into our waking consciousness between the mundane, comes the other always begging for time and action. You articulate that well here.

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  39. I didn't see your point until here:

    Mothers on their iPhone,
    distracted while paying one hundred sixty dollars
    for teeth cleaning,
    while five miles away there are
    children that come to school with empty bellies.
    Hungry for the free lunch that will sustain them
    for another day.
    We die a little everyday.

    And you are so right - we fail to see what we have (until it is taken away from us).

    Profound words my friend, profound.

    Anna :o]


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    1. Anna, it's about the have and the have nots. It's about
      mothers that seem disconnected from their children and the plight of others.
      Thank you.

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  40. That was pretty deep. You should check out my band Terminally Ill on my blog that I wrote about them.

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    1. Thank you kindly. I will come by your blog.

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  41. Ain't that the truth, Ayala.

    Lady Nyo

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  42. Wow! what can I say, Ayala. One of the best social conscience poems I've ever read. The first line grabbed my attention straightaway. And many more spoke to me.

    We die slowly every day,

    Then:

    "Hours laced with routine
    and responsibilities,
    while we bury our desires."

    and

    "Mothers on their iPhone,
    distracted while paying one hundred sixty dollars
    for teeth cleaning,
    while five miles away there are
    children that come to school with empty bellies.
    Hungry for the free lunch that will sustain them
    for another day.
    We die a little everyday."

    It's true...We do die a little everyday literally, and in more ways than one.

    Thanks for sharing this, Ayala.

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    1. Thank you, Adura. I have to say that it's one of my favorites that I wrote. I was at the dentist office when I started writing it....

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  43. Sad, but true. I try and look at it from the other direction, and see life as living a little each day.

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  44. Thank You - French is a funny guy. Glad you write about truth!

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  45. this reminds me of Thoreau's idea of "quiet desperation"; you certainly paint it very well here, powerfully.

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  46. Beautiful, Ayala... and sadly, true.

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  47. this is great. Love the truth here, tough, but truth always carries a beauty with it, regardless. This is one of my favorites of yours, from great lines to a nice rhythmic flow and the aesthetic layout came out great as well. Thanks

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  48. hey..just wanted to say hello from california...VERY tired by happy...smiles...and i def. will make the trip to frisco...smiles

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    1. Thanks, Claudia. I hope you are having an amazing trip.

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  49. Ayala, I heard that your beautiful doggy passed. I am so very sorry to hear it. You have my heartfelt sympathy.

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    1. Thank you, Shay. I appreciate this more than you know.

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