Stupid

I just have to share today a poem which I read last night.  I did NOT write it, in fact, it was written by Debora Geary.  She writes romance novels and novels about a fictional community of witches.  It is the community of witches which I follow.  The book from which the following poem is offered in Witches Under Way, from her WitchLight Trilogy (Copyright 2012 Debora Geary, Fireweed Publishing, Kindle Edition).

The main reason I feel the need to place it here in Karma Kookies, is because many people may not read the same books I do, thus missing this little treasure.  The personal reason I am placing on my Karma Kookies is because, like everyone in the fictional audience who heard this poem recited live, I too held my breath when it was done, progressing through my life and the way I thought. 

So, even if you are not a poetry reader, give this one a shot.  It is easy, not deep and dreary, not hard to understand, and it will perhaps offer you a bit of insight as it has me.

Stupid (by Lizard Monroe aka Debora Geary)

            Sometimes it doesn’t even start out as a word,

just slime that eases in

and grows roots and has no name,

covering the parts of your insides

that know how to breathe.

            And then one day it turns real,

an agent of mean

aiming to bruise your soul or someone else’s.

            It doesn’t matter.

            Stupid sticks to everything,

even if it wasn’t thrown at you.

            You do battle with stupid.

            You tell people they’re wrong

and you try to be smart

and one day you even try to put stupid in a bag with some rocks

and one of those crazy fisherman knots that never come undone

and hope it drowns.

            But stupid floats back up

and it’s cute kittens

and Santa Clause

and grandmothers who live forever that end up in the bag instead.

            Stupid is a survivor.

            Eventually, you stop fighting

and grant squatting rights in your soul.

            If you’re lucky, one day, for reasons unknown,

good people start shoveling other words into your head

and stupid gets quieter for a while,

maybe even takes a long vacation to a nice island with no Internet.

            But it always comes back.

            I’ve learned that you can’t fight stupid,

or drown it

or bury it

or send it on a long trip without a map.

            You can’t unlearn it

or unteach it

or eviscerate it from the memory of the world.

            But you can remember this.

            Stupid isn’t a name.  It’s just a word. 

I do hope that at least one person who reads this, besides me of course, finds something personal in this poem for them. 

If you liked this poem, or want to see what kind of books bring light into my life, check out www.deborageary.com.  Yes, the books are about witches, but not the Shakespearian kind, and what I glean more from the books is the community of people, not just the witches.  I believe the communities she describes in Ms. Geary describes in her books are very possible, and they are all not peaches and cream, but real everyday life.  Ms. Geary’s books may be found on Amazon.com as well, and they are in Kindle format for a very reasonable price for such joy.