This poem is very longSo long, in fact, that your attention spanMay be stretched to its very limitsBut thats okayIts whats so special about poetrySee, poetry takes timeWe live in a timeCall it our culture or societyIt doesnt matter to me cause neither one rhymesA time where most people dont want to listenOur throats wait like matchsticks waiting to catch fireWaiting until we can speakNo patience to listenBut this poem is longIts so long, in fact, that during the time of this poemYou couldve done any number of other wonderful thingsYou couldve called your fatherCall your fatherYou could be writing a postcard right nowWrite a postcardWhen was the last time you wrote a postcard?You could be outsideYoure probably not too far away from a sunrise or a sunsetWatch the sun riseMaybe you couldve written your own poemA better poemYou could have played a tune or sung a songYou could have met your neighborAnd memorized their nameMemorize the name of your neighborYou couldve drawn a picture(Or, at least, colored one in)You couldve started a bookOr finished a prayerYou couldve talked to GodPrayWhen was the last time you prayed?Really prayed?This is a long poemSo long, in fact, that youve already spent a minute with itWhen was the last time you hugged a friend for a minute?Or told them that you love them?Tell your friends you love themno, I mean it, tell themSay, I love youSay, you make life worth livingBecause that, is what friends doOf all of the wonderful things that you couldve doneDuring this very, very long poemYou could have connectedMaybe you are connectingMaybe were connectingSee, I believe that the only things that really matterIn the grand scheme of life are God and peopleAnd if people are made in the image of GodThen when you spend your time with peopleIts never wastedAnd in this very long poemIm trying to let a poem do what a poem does:Make things simplerWe dont need poems to make things more complicatedWe have each other for thatWe need poems to remind ourselves of the things that really matterTo take timeA long timeTo be alive for the sake of someone else for a single momentOr for many momentsCause we need each otherTo hold the hands of a broken personAll you have to do is meet a personShake their handLook in their eyesThey are youWe are all broken togetherBut these shattered pieces of our existence dont have to be a messWe just have to care enough to hold our tongues sometimesTo sit and listen to a very long poemA story of a lifeThe joy of a friend and the grief of friendTo hold and be heldAnd be quietSo, prayWrite a postcardCall your parents and forgive them and then thank themTurn off the TVCreate art as best as you canShare as much as possible, especially moneyTell someone about a very long poem you once heardAnd how afterward it brought you to them
