Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a
poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a
gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his
aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with
tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the
girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and
he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him
in bed at night
And was always there to do it
Once on a piece of
white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new
paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left
butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year
his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl
around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And
the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father
never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried
for him to do it.
Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a
poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the
question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his
professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never
hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the
year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's
Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And
his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around
the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at
three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly
That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really
all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen.
This poem is called,
A Person, A Paper, A Promise, written by Dr. Earl Reum.
Isn't it sad? My wish for you all is to understand that the world in which we live is brutal, it's rough, it's confusing, it's real but it can be beautiful. It will give us strength. You are not alone. You 're stronger than you think. You can make it. Please don't give up. You are
beautiful. B-E-A-U-tiful. You are worth so much. You're not worthless, you never were, and you never will be. Sometimes things are hard but they'll make you stronger and you'll get past it. You're going to make it. I know you're tired but you can take it. You'll get the energy to make it through. You'll find the light to lead you out of the darkness and your heart will sing and be happy and you'll feel the love. The sadness will go away. You'll accomplish things you can't even imagine right now. Don't be afraid, don't run away. You're amazing and you're going to make it. You deserve the sun and the stars, the moon, the clouds, and all the smiles in the world. You deserve it all. Your life is precious and beautiful. It's wonderful and perfect. You may not see how precious your life is but treasure it. It's a wonderful thing. Please don't hurt it. Don't destroy it. Don't tarnish its beauty. Please! I love you. I'd love for you to be happy. I'd love to see you smile. A beautiful and happy smile. I'd love to see pain and sadness vanished from the world forever. I want all hearts to be healed. I believe that we can work together to achieve that. We can make it happen through love. Love is magical. Hope is magical but they're both real. They're real and we can use them to change the world and make it better place. A place that we deserve and a place that our children and their children deserve. A beautiful place built on love and fed with happiness. It can happen and it will. It's possible if we all believe and know that it's real. Know that a better tomorrow is possible and we can all work towards it. Tell someone how amazing they are. Tell someone that their smile is beautiful and that it warms other people's hearts. Tell someone that they are loved and not alone. Believe it. Understand it and spread the word. Together we can spread love to every heart and the world will be a better place. We can do it. I believe. Do you?
