Feb. 4, 2013

Take Notice

by William McKenzie (author's profile)

Transcription

A Poem for Ya'll to Start Your 2013

Take Notice

Picture the snow slowly falling, beauty for all to see
A man stands at his window, alone but not lonely
No one knows when the snow will stop, or when it will come again
The man in the window knows his battle will come
Whether by sword or by pen
No one can ease the forces of nature
We know it beyond our control
The man in the window meets a man in the street
Two singles that now form one whole
Powerless to the needs instilled at birth
Fighting the odds for a peaceful calm earth
When is a choice no longer a choice
Listen to me, I too have a voice
Not looking back or too far ahead, I've already made my choice
Frustration bottled up deep inside
Ready to raise my voice
I've dealt with persecution for far too many days
I say this now "Nothing will change the course
Of my ways" - "I'm gay"
People "take notice" it's time you heard my cry
No longer will I hide - it's my turn to try

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Replies (9) Replies feed

Goldfish1871 Posted 11 years, 1 month ago. ✓ Mailed 11 years, 1 month ago   Favorite
Thanks for writing! I finished the transcription for your post.

William McKenzie Posted 11 years ago.   Favorite
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collegekid Posted 10 years, 10 months ago. ✓ Mailed 10 years, 10 months ago   Favorite
Billy,
I loved your 'starting the year 2013' poem! I was also impressed by reading your response to goldfish. I applaud the progress you've made in 12 steps and hope to learn from you myself. I'm a big perfectionist as well and, also gay, am often frustrated with myself...you're absoltely right in that perfection is non existent. I just hope that sinks in for me more soon. I'll remember you throughout my own struggles and appreciate and follow your strength. I sincerely hope all is well with you now. Hopefully poetry is still working for you as a way to express yourself. Poetry, playing the violin, and reading are all ways for me to express myself, all of which help me a lot.
"No longer will I try- it's my turn to cry"
So moving... thank you.

William McKenzie Posted 10 years, 9 months ago.   Favorite
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William McKenzie Posted 10 years, 9 months ago.   Favorite
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collegekid Posted 10 years, 4 months ago. ✓ Mailed 10 years, 3 months ago   Favorite
Billy,
I’m so so sorry for the extremely late response!!! I can’t tell you how touched and honored I was to be able to be the first person you told about your two-year sobriety chip. It’s old news now for you, I’m sure, but that shouldn’t belittle its value. That’s something to really be proud of- I’m really happy for you and hope that you’re now working toward that third-year chip! I hope reading your poems in front of those tough critics in June went well as well! I’m sure it did.
I continue to play the violin a lot- I even have an improvisation class that meets twice a week. It’s fun! We play along with music from all various artists, anything from Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, The Who, to Pink Floyd. I’m the only violinist and girl in the class of 16 students, but I don’t mind. My classmates all play one of the following: the drums, guitar, bass, or piano. And then there’s me on the violin. I get to really play out though, because they seem to like it. I’m glad you like the violin too. Oh, but I’m curious about one thing you said when you were talking about reading. I love to read too, but sometimes I wonder why I let myself spend the time to become knowledgeable, when there’s so much other stuff I could be doing that needs my attention. For example, if I had put one of my books down earlier, I would have been able to get back to you faster. Or I could be volunteering more. Or writing more poetry myself instead of reading poetry books- poetry made my others. I feel like the more I read the newspaper, the more I educate myself. But sometimes after sitting there for an hour after reading a great deal of that day’s newspaper, I have nothing to show for it. Maybe one day if I were on a lottery show and needed to know a recent event that had just occurred in Turkey, for example, it would be useful. But otherwise, why is reading the news that useful when I don’t seem to change much of my daily habits upon reading it. Too much of what I read is out of my hands to change. I don’t see how I can possibly change some of the behavior of the Turkish government, so…what’s the point in learning about things I can disagree with but am unable to change? Maybe you can help me as a fellow reader, to try and answer this...but it’s a really tough question that I don’t expect you to solve, don’t worry! I’ve just been wondering about it a lot recently.
Anyway, back to poetry. I honestly absolutely LOVED your poem, ‘Do ya think’!!! It was incredibly powerful, most likely because it felt so personal and real. It really gives a 1286543 times deeper outlook on drugs that a sign like “Say no to drugs!” does. So, obviously that’s one amazing poem. Thanks so much for sharing. I’m afraid my poetry is not nearly as good. I’m personally more invested in my violin than my poetry. I’ve also been in a state of writer’s block lately, so that doesn’t help... (this is page 1- there's a page 2)

collegekid Posted 10 years, 4 months ago. ✓ Mailed 10 years, 3 months ago   Favorite
(This is page 2) Do you ever have writer’s block? Maybe if you think of a topic for me, we could both try writing about that one specific topic and then compare… Since it’s Saturday, November 23rd as I’m writing this today, you’ll probably get this letter by Thanksgiving (the 28th). So I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving!!
I’m sure there are other places you’d rather be for this holiday, but I hope you find comfort where you are and remember that I'll be thinking of you. After all, I’m thankful for my new friend!
Collegekid

William McKenzie Posted 10 years, 2 months ago.   Favorite
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William McKenzie Posted 10 years, 1 month ago.   Favorite
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