One of the things I have always done since I learned how to write in elementary school is… write! The challenge of writing an essay (Aufsatz) whenI went to school in Germany was not so much a challenge but an outlet for me. Because, in addition to loving to write, the good Lord also bestowed a generous amount of imagination on this here writer, and so anytime I was given a topic, I just let lose, so to speak. Unfortunately, all my elementary school masterpieces went out with the trash, when my parents cleaned up their basement cellar many years ago and so the world will never get to enjoy the childhood writings of this author. What a great loss to humanity! (False modesty was never one of my strengths).
I recently remembered one of my very early poems titled “Verkehrte Welt” (Backwards World). Though I don’t remember the wording of it, it was a poem about the world being backward (obviously!) and how one could determine that it was. One of the significant lines in the poem was “When SPD and CDU sich gegenseitig lassen in Ruh”. SPD and CDU were the two opposing political parties at the time (now there are more) and if they would stop quarreling with each other, that would be a pretty good indicator that something was wrong with our world.
Now, what’s the significance of this? I don’t know. I was just throwing that out there because it popped in my head whilst (love that word) I am writing this. “Please wait whilst we search for you flight” British Airways uses this on their webpage when you book a flight. I should know, I just did! Book a flight, I mean. I am going to spend my 50th birthday away from y’all in my hometown of Stuttgart. Except my lifesaver girlfriend Sandy is going with me. She booked her flight with Priceline not British Airways and they don’t use pretty words like “whilst”, I can tell you that for a fact. …if you care to know, (which you probably don’t).
See, how easily I get sidetracked? There was a point to all this when I started out writing. What was it, though? Oh yes, here it goes.
The fact that one of my first poems was “Backwards World” is rather interesting (at least to me). Or maybe to any of you who know me on a more personal level and know that I tend to do things backwards. My brain is just wired differently, it seems. So, you can call me many things, but boring is not one of them. And my kids simply cannot understand that I NEVER get bored! How could I possibly when there is always SOMETHING going on in my head. There are just too many things to think about to ever get bored. I am sure I am not the only person who feels like that.? Anyone? Anyone at all?
Now I remember what this blog post was supposed to be about: Poetry. So, let’s get back on track here. I tend to write when I’m in crisis because it helps me express myself. Speech is not really my thing but give me a pen, a piece of paper, or a computer and the words just flow.
I posted a slighly different version of this poem on my Facebook account. But this is the final version. It has moved people to tears, which makes me happy and not because I enjoy people crying but because that means they were able to FEEL the emotions I needed to express. But at the end of the day this is a poem about triumph and survival!!!
The Grass On The Other Side
Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s not,
about the patch of grass on the neighbor’s lot.
When your own grass is brown and tears have been cried
‘cause you assume the grass to be greener on the other side.
I tried not to look, tried watering some more.
But what’s pretty dead cannot be raised off the floor.
Even so, I still labored, many things have I tried
while ignoring the grass on the other side.
But there comes a point in time when all is in vain
and your realize you’ve been held back by a chain
to keep you from going to the other side,
where the grass truly is greener and feels just right.
The chain was severed, the fence left behind.
All was done with a clear conscious and mind.
Now I look back without so much as a frown.
Because the grass on the other side will always remain brown.
by Sibyl Aguilar
February 2012