Bullying...

If you do anything today, you MUST watch this. Less than 8 minutes of your time (unless you have a slow computer of course!)

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This is my favorite Poet.

Here's another great poem of his. He got together with students to create this little video to go along with his poem. The words to this poem are wonderful, and I have often listened to it when having a bad day. It applys to life as well as bullying in school. I find it encouraging.

Instructions For A Bad Day.
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In case anyone doesn't know, Shane is the poet who spoke the amazing long Canadian poem at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, "We Are More". You can read it at

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Shane is also an Okanagan College alumni.

Shane is on my list of people I would like to meet. I've been following his stuff since before the olympics, and I particularly enjoy these words he shared as well as his "The Crickets have Arthritis."

Poetry saved my life in school when I was bullied. Poetry was my vent instead of bullets and blood.

On the flip side, I rarely write anymore because I'm too envious of the talent of people like him.

Write for yourself, Sweetened. Write for you. Write because ink flows onto paper. Write to fill that blank space with what's in your head. Write to get it all out. Write to untangle a tangled heart.

Read it. Keep it. Stand before the open door of your furnace with a yellow fire snapping inside and leaf by leaf, let those written pages drift into the flames. If you want.

But write for you and no one but you. Write.

uno wrote:Write for yourself, Sweetened. Write for you. Write because ink flows onto paper. Write to fill that blank space with what's in your head. Write to get it all out. Write to untangle a tangled heart.

Read it. Keep it. Stand before the open door of your furnace with a yellow fire snapping inside and leaf by leaf, let those written pages drift into the flames. If you want.

But write for you and no one but you. Write.

Mm.. writing without purpose is like sex without love -- works for some people, not for me.

Sweetened wrote:

uno wrote:Write for yourself, Sweetened. Write for you. Write because ink flows onto paper. Write to fill that blank space with what's in your head. Write to get it all out. Write to untangle a tangled heart.

Read it. Keep it. Stand before the open door of your furnace with a yellow fire snapping inside and leaf by leaf, let those written pages drift into the flames. If you want.

But write for you and no one but you. Write.

Mm.. writing without purpose is like sex without love -- works for some people, not for me.

..........I understand what you mean ,I write because I need to release my thoughts / words and paper is a avenue that works sometimes ! .Sometimes words don't come out clear and they need to come out .As you said there are those who we envey for there talent ,and yet we also have that within ourselves ,it jut needs a release .Most of what I write is for me ,it allows me back in to a place that is mine ,no one elses aand I can relive what it is that I wrote about .I also was bullied and found this release at a very young age ,I think it's what saved me in a way as well .I don't vent very well, but on paper I can put thoughts and feelings that are mine ,and I matter just as you do ,so it is for a reason ..........it's for you