"centeredness" poems
*
***your pride tries to optimize
my persona, to suit your needs,
and if it doesn't, you criticize...
Yet, you're good enough...
your prejudice makes you
suspect even my good deeds,
and you demean me for them too....
Yet, you're good enough...
your control freakiness
makes you restrict me
even if i act right...
Yet, you're good enough...
your self centeredness
wants me to fit in the standards,
you define and ever-changing ...
Yet, you're good enough...
the veil of your hatred
doesn't let you see
my love and concern for you...
Yet, you're good enough...***
*
Apr 28, 2019
Apr 28, 2019 at 1:42 PM UTC
#
*River running..
That rushing sound in these parts
spell out the words, crystal-clear..
Tree-lined banks, giving way
to the Dark Hills, upslope
Giving way, to
granite-rocked outcroppings
giving way to elk-hidden quakeys
Surrendering their holy-huddle's
pristine stances
to tall prairie-grass, waving
wild raspberries and tall pines
And I, myself..
am surrendering also
She is watching the water, believing
That as it flows,
she will not lose herself in it
That it will not steal, but heal
That I will not rage again
within my fear
I am watching her,
watch the water
I am watching the water-- believing
That as I give of myself
further into the flow
that I will not become diffused
by humanity
By the love of man
and all of its dishonesty
and all of its diabolical treachery
Of its lack of concern,
or understanding
Or ability to break through
its own, self-centeredness
Or its need to swallow me up
into the mundane.
Her hands are in the air now,
praising..
Worshipping
the true nature of the flow,
Believing..
that I will let all of this, go
And as she wades in
I ease, back--
Retreating
up the Dark Hills, slope
Clutching tightly..
To granite-rocked outcroppings,
weeping.
Hiding in the quakeys,
among the majestic elk
Begging for the tallgrass, cover
among the wild raspberries.
Now, fully concealed
in tall pines.
Her hands
are stretched out, now..
as if hovering over the waters,
participating
While I hide from it all
While I hide, from humanity;
From the fallen, love of man
She is wading in,
Believing
.
As I am leaving;
Believing
As the cloud-hidden sky,
starts raining--
playing the most incredible, of tunes.*
#
Aug 8, 2021
Aug 8, 2021 at 8:01 PM UTC
Even the most devout Christians
accept that Jesus was a guy
guys get ***** as do gals.
Yes, all of us have a creator in us
starlight
life-creating energy
poetry
and prose.
Maybe Jesus didn’t have the kind of darkness in him
that we have
the kind of drag
of pride and self-centeredness
that I have,
but by God!
he was faced with the same choices
between fidelity and desire
between horniness and selfless love.
Yep I fail in ways he did not
but he failed to get rid of lust just like I do
he failed to avoid selfish desires.
Of course, I act on them
and ***** up in ways he did not.
But do you think he didn’t feel ******* up at times?
Of course he did.
All of this humanity
is what makes me like him.
Jesus was a guy.
That he was more
is what makes me love him.
Mar 3, 2022
Mar 3, 2022 at 10:23 AM UTC
Living is often like drowning, and sleeping like flying,
So bridges and tall buildings always tempt me.
When I talk about death I feel brave.
I've always hated how recognition can so easily turn into pride.
They say pride comes before the fall,
But I believe that various kinds of self-centeredness are the origin of all unholy descents.
I remind myself that I shouldn't take my life because I didn't give it,
And my heart continues to beat on its own.
Blood doesn't stain crimson red,
It darkens and crusts on the skin.
Everything that is dead becomes only a memory,
Then it disintegrates and washes away, eventually becoming nothing.
I can’t remember anything from before I had the ability to reason,
So when did I come alive?
I wonder if all people valued beauty,
Would there be peace?
Because I sometimes wonder whether Neil Armstrong meant to say what he did as took his first step on the moon.
I think trying is as valuable as doing,
But justification is a dangerous tool.
I am cautious of failure and success;
But count this as my eulogy
A list of things that I am going to say before my untimely death.
*I recognized the world for the canvas it was and I didn't waste my life.
My dreams were my motivation,
And they were fueled by those that underestimated me
I walked streets day and night and prayed that I would somehow run into the girl of my dreams,
and when I finally found my missing rib I looked at her like she was a piece of art that I just couldn't keep my eyes off of.
I suffered and I found its nectar bitter-sweet.
I didn't get the best of life, but then I made the best of life.
I never stopped caring,
my love for the unlovable made me daring.
I trusted too easily so I was always broken.
I always found things to love, but they never loved me,
But despite it, I still loved, hard, even though it hurt me.
I couldn't comfort because I had never been comforted.
After a lifetime of battling myself, I finally took off my crown of thorns.
I didn't let the past get the best of me,
I gave the future all of me.
I hated animosity,
War was despicable to me,
And I always preached peace.
I prayed constantly that my efforts would not be in vain.
I never actually could stop sinning, but despite my ugly sins, I never stopped straining.
I was not perfect, but I did the best I could.
I never ceased to hear the music.
I still played, even when I felt like I was playing solo, I still played my part in this symphony of life.
My eyes were aimed at the director, and we played through the storm,
We played even when all hell was against us,
We played, and played, and played
Until eternity came through.....*
Jun 12, 2014
Jun 12, 2014 at 1:28 PM UTC
The foundation of selfishness
Has much to do with wanting and desiring
And places a heavy focus on
Thoughts of obtaining and acquiring.
The instinctive ego takes control
And motivations become self-centered.
We're often heedless and unaware
Of the shadowy place that we have entered.
Naturally, self-centeredness
Colors what we think and do;
But NOT wanting and NOT desiring,
On the other hand, can be selfish, too.
Wanting: selfish? Not wanting: selfish?
How--we might ask--does that make sense?
NOT wanting may substantiate
Our way of life at others' expense:
Not wanting others to share the same freedoms;
Not wanting others to have the same rights;
Being silent when seeing injustice;
Ignoring people's struggles and plights;
Not acknowledging the efforts of others;
Not desiring to work toward peace;
Not wanting to know oneself;
Not caring if hatreds cease;
Being indifferent to the happiness of others;
Not allowing others to progress;
Not wanting to know how to fix
Our planet once we've made a huge mess.
NOT wanting in many ways
Speaks as loudly as word or deed,
And we become helpless victims
Of our sad and varying levels of greed.
What motivates us really?
Do we know, or do we care?
Is it safer NOT to know?
It might seem so, but beware.
- by Bob B
Oct 31, 2016
Oct 31, 2016 at 5:18 PM UTC
I a free to say and do whatever my heart desires
Judged by a code of ethics but I have acquired the combination
I am a free spirit that soars though life
I am a moral man, but what are morals anymore?
Different opinions and mind sets is what makes existence so grand
Decisions made to improve my life at another's expense
Self centeredness is the nature of the beast
My tone is just a reflection of the of my outlook
Silence has set this spirit free from worry
An ultimate power reigns on this earth,therefor, I remain good
Peoples tendencies stir up complications of misunderstandings
I adjust to the situation and remain a free spirit
Who are you to JUDGE?
Jan 4, 2015
Jan 4, 2015 at 8:36 AM UTC
I am making a wall that is so much
I cant break it down, on my own
this is my mistake and I cant change it
I tried my best to tear this apart
but my best is so worse
Ive been hopeless, no where else to go
Is there an open door for me to go in?
Take this ways, Im so vulnerable
When I am alone and with the crowd
I end up with tears at night
And praying facedown to the floor
This heart is always thinking of you
In my dreams, you are there
Sometimes you are annoyed of me
Just like in reality
And it breaks my heart
I woke and I ask myself
Why are you so selfish?
You are always thinking of that
Many people were telling you to stop
but are you listening to them?
This will carry you to great deliverance
Its been too long since Ive been here
Im so anxious of the future
So curious that never wanted to lose my affection
Because of this self-centeredness of myself
I cant talk with you personally
My tongue never produced a word
There is no victory in my way
It condemns me day after day
My time was consumed by this feeling
I thought that this is over
but as I walk towards holiness
Its getting so hard and heavy
I cant defeat this fiery ordeals
They are everywhere
I can sense there presence
God, you know my heart
If this is love
Teach me how to prepare
If this is not the thing that You suppose to be with me
Let the root of this infatuation vanish
Let it sink into the ocean floor
Or bury it into the ground
So that I will never put to shame
May 15, 2010
May 15, 2010 at 1:05 AM UTC
Feel the force of the broken ones
Blindly lashing at the branches
Afraid to strike the root and see
The end to their negative solidarity
Streets seethe under daylight’s pressure:
The negative solidarity movement marches forth.
But I remember as I stand here watching on,
That they say the night is always darkest before the dawn.
In fear the masses converge
Under banners devoid of vision,
Understanding,
And love.
No light of freedom glints in eyes
That look for solutions from above:
“The state will cure the sickness
of self-centeredness,
Greed,
And Lust,
It will bring the order to our lives
Our cities,
Our nation,
Our trust.”
But the state can protect us only
From the violence we cause each other
Its touch never brings the love we crave
From every man as our brother.
It cements its rule with force’s power
That in love’s absence, projects a veneer
Of a nation’s people bound together
Though, in fact, they’re bound by fear.
The state’s hand touches where we’ve succumbed
To the blind hatred that keeps us enchained
To our selfishness that preys on others
And acts on lies we’ve entertained.
The state lets us live with the sad folly
Of not looking our fellow man in the eyes
And knowing his pain, troubles and joy
While living with him every day of our lives.
I dream one day we’ll realize the truth
That our nation was not of fiat born
But birthed by freedom’s present light
From which the state has had us torn.
I dream one day we’ll see the truth
That love and freedom must lead the fight
Against state slavery and its chains
But ’till then we march:
Left, right,
Left, right,
Left, right.
Apr 4, 2013
Apr 4, 2013 at 1:06 AM UTC
When I am in my Dark Before Dawn,
Believing my falsehood that I am a Failure
Listening as Angels Fall, Breaking the Silence;
The sound is Hollow yet it brings me Close to Heaven.
Bury Me Alive is no longer my mantra;
Never Again shall The Great Divide form like this.
I taste the Ashes of Eden clinging to my lips, I remember that I am not forever Defeated.
Yet I am living in Dear Agony,
Feeling like I'm going to slowly Fade Away.
I realize that I Will not Bow to these demons,
I will Crawl as long as you Give Me a Sign.
Then I realise that it's all Hopeless when I,
Discover What Lies Beneath.
I solemnly sing out, in a whisper, the Anthem of the Angels.
I can comprehend it's Lights Out in my mind,
Screaming out Dear Agony out Into the Nothing because I am Without You...
Did I ever tell you about my Phobia?
I got it while I was reading The Diary of Jane,
It took my Breath away when she wrote she loves You.
So I fell like an Evil Angel,
Swearing to hate you Until the End.
With my self-centeredness I daftly decided I should Dance With the Devil at a ******* bar.
But... Here We Are again; I'm an Unknown Soldier and you've Had Enough.
Once again, You Fight Me.
Remember that We Are not Alone.
I've felt desperate, So Cold,
When it's just a Simple Design I should Follow.
You are my Firefly as you catch me. You Break My Fall and I won't Forget It.
But Sooner or Later I'm going to Breakdown,
Slipping Away because I can't Believe.
So watch me fall like Rain.
May 17, 2016
May 17, 2016 at 7:43 PM UTC
O Lord, I continue to ache for Your heart of flesh!
Lovingly chastise me, with regard to improper attitudes;
my spirit will never freely soar in unity with You,
without understanding and a transcendental altitude.
Chasing earthly mirages is a waste of my precious time
and it will never satisfy or quench my unending thirst.
Living a dedicated life of self-gratification and pleasure,
won’t overcome this pain… that’s been repeatedly rehearsed.
Deep within my soul, I embrace Your genuine Love for me.
As a result, unwanted, dead things are compelled to fall away.
Concepts of selfishness, jealousy, discontentment, self-pity,
greed, addiction, and unforgiveness will no longer rule my days.
Lord, teach me to “take up my cross” daily without complaint;
Break the stony hardheartedness that hinders our relationship!
For I crave, the joy and contentment I previously possessed,
which softly undergirds our ongoing and eternal fellowship.
With Your Word hidden in my heart, I walk the “narrow path”,
since sin’s “broad path” leads only to one’s destruction.
Acting ungodly will always be a lost battle of the soul;
therefore, I cling onto Your Salvation and Resurrection…
with a proper mindset and complete surrender to You!
Self-centeredness is unhealthy to my soul’s existence;
therefore, I’m determined to purposely seek oneness with You,
while forgoing the proverbial path… of least resistance.
Author Notes:
Loosely based on:
Ezek 11:19; 1 John 3:9-14; 2 Cor 4, 5:17; Rev 3:19;
Phil 3:10, 4:12; Gal 2:20, 6:10, 12-15; 1 Tim 5:6, 6:6-7;
1 Thes 5:15; 1 Cor 13; Mark 8:34; Matt 6:10, 33
Learn more about me and my poetry at:
http://amzn.to/1ffo9YZ
By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2013, All rights reserved.
Mar 6, 2014
Mar 6, 2014 at 10:30 AM UTC
Is this like art? No, sister. This is self-centeredness, a soap opera.
*
Time, the incongruous snail. How quickly it moves.
I need new folklore, a new change purse to hold the eyeballs I ****** out of thinness.
Nod to panicked thickness. Nod to talk radio. Box fan in my window ******* in the same air
the dinosaurs breathed, the air jimmy hoffa breathed, the air the rosenbergs breathed.
It feels wet.
*
This mineral spring smells like jellied summer. All of my hanging plants are dying without fear.
The air above my head is cancerous. I live in a birdhouse, powered by phantom glories.
May 25, 2016
May 25, 2016 at 1:07 PM UTC
Cloud sandwich
After a long day flying
Invited to this rock to rest
Did you call it Earth?
I've Slid like silk between strata
The Light Steed's earnest breath
Is north of near, between the crests
Of here and there
Guided by centeredness
Engaged to peace
The Golden Fleece of allowance
lets it Be
Angel cradled mind release
Eyebrow mountains, the crystal creek
Flowing forth The Creator speaks,
"Drink deeply child, be filled.”
Yes, I can stick around for some stellar tea
And a light shake
Cloud sandwiched, I'll give you
Tours of the galaxy.
Aug 12, 2013
Aug 12, 2013 at 9:55 AM UTC
My heart scares you away
At least that's what I tell myself
It's not my lack of affection
Or my self centeredness
My heart
It scares you away.
Jul 22, 2012
Jul 22, 2012 at 4:33 AM UTC
Tim wasn't the only one infected,
But he was the only one who wasn't turning into a duck.
It had been more than two years of horror,
And almost every part of the world had been struck.
This new disease was carried through the shiny electronic devices,
That had gripped the world in a photogenic way.
Every wall and post reeked of the self centeredness,
And all that led to this last man standing scenario today.
Tim was resisting his fate by throwing away all the devices he could find,
But his hope was slowly degrading, as they were scattered everywhere.
He was experiencing what scientists called as a celebrity syndrome,
The last stage before he would give in, it was almost too hard to bear.
His soul was being crushed within his hundred dollar shirt,
But he was far more inclined to break the mirror in front of his eyes.
The disease was spreading through his arms and hands now,
And in sometime there would be no place left to hide.
Everyone at his school had turned into a duck the other day,
He had seen it from his own eyes, as all his friends got stuck on the web.
Scientists were baffled how it spread impervious of one's religion or faith,
They said the only part recognizable after the infection spreads is the head.
He found his moms name last night too, posted on the wall of lost people.
Tim could only rub his eyes, she was only fifty -five.
He had no clue of what to do, he was already feeling so miserable,
His father had already died, lost sister at twenty-five.
Tim was growing restless by the second, wrestling with his own arms,
But it was too much to handle and finally his hands got free,
He flashed the electronic device at the mirror, it felt warm,
And that's how Tim became the last casualty on earth to catch a selfie.
Dec 1, 2014
Dec 1, 2014 at 12:31 PM UTC
World will end this new year, like so many before it,
With people trying to better themselves in meager ways,
So they can achieve them. That’s no way to go about resolution.
Thinking that the whole world will be washed and turn over
A new leaf, the world will be the same place, and by your
Viewpoint of this, that could be good or a horrible thing.
“Looking” at things with every sense is the only way to grasp.
The world will still have war, death, disease, violence, hat…
The world will also still have peace, life, health, helping, love….
The world won’t be this shiny new place, but for those that
Achieve miraculous goals, whether resolutions, or out of the
Moment. Then those are the shiny bits of history for us.
They’re only heroes if they deny that they are heroes.
The world will end with people conflicted with themselves
And others. But hopefully content with that conflictedness.
Don’t idolize others and try to become them, create your
Own idolization, not self-centeredness. Create your own view.
Create your own culture and society. Create yourself.
Do what you want, as long as it doesn’t hurt yourself or others.
You’re you for the rest of your life, so you might want to…
Nov 15, 2012
Nov 15, 2012 at 11:22 PM UTC
090216
My being overflows w/ Your cup of salvation
As I've learned by heart what true love is;
A love that's unconditional
And marked only by Your grace.
I no longer trust my own instinct
That may lead me to question Love;
For it may bind me to self-centeredness,
And so I choose to unlearn distrust.
You pour out Yourself unto me
As You had my name engraved in Your palms.
Gently, You whisper Your caring Words
And then, they become hymns
To which my heart & soul resonates.
And when my heart is torn asunder,
Every debris of failures, You turn them into ashes.
The degree of burnt memories;
My desire of loving, You remained at rest.
You never failed to carry my heart
With Your mighty arms, You rescue my dripping reveries.
Unto Your feet, I lay my dying petals of hope.
I had missed so many opportunities You gave me,
But now I arise in Spirit and in Truth,
I choose to love You, You're all that I've got.
Sep 21, 2016
Sep 21, 2016 at 6:13 AM UTC
self depreciation all day.
on the other end of the
spectrum (of my self-centeredness)
i have been stopped by people
who have nothing more to say
than
you're beautiful.
hell-o, cloud cover-ing my
embarrassment. this vessel,
hovercraft named LonelyCrusin'
is here to pick up my mania, my
loveliness.
strangers left with a beautiful ****
not a beautiful person but
an avoidable disaster. my little soul,
the hedonist. blanket the word
solipsism —
4†, superhero. i am not
my name + technology; i
am not my face + a mouth
full of *****
maybe i am. i don't care.
you will come to my house, already
boiling (your arousal
smells like herbal tea)
and i will be in the tub
with music on loud. i
will ignore you until i dissolve
into the weak solution i am.
† the act in which i
refuse yet
again the
image of another. give
myself to myself and only i can lose.
Nov 10, 2016
Nov 10, 2016 at 9:36 PM UTC
And shes decided her heart is broken,
Have you decided what the token is
Put the golden medal of sorrow around your neck
As she wanders around town looking for stories to tell about backstabbing and the man is elusive, who accepts her self centeredness
She was never my friend
Has she decided her heart is broken
Has she decided which token to carry
Mar 1, 2016
Mar 1, 2016 at 9:27 PM UTC
i like to tell stories
that bring glory to me
no one i know
is more deservingly
at this moment you think
i am up on myself
but at this moment
isn't everyone else
with self centeredness
being the thought of the day
in the i want it all
and i want it my way
i can honestly say
without skipping a beat
i, me, and mine
are my top favorite three
so listen closely
to the stories i tell
interestingly about me
and nobody else
Jun 30, 2016
Jun 30, 2016 at 8:03 AM UTC
Sleep does not come easy to me, if at all
Quite often i find myself merely in a stasis
Un-moving, un-thinking, muscles completely still
Dreams came to me often; before
Beautiful machinations of my subconscious would wing their way to the front of my eyes
Images of my once very real fears would mix and mingle with the deepest desires of my heart
The balance of waking mind given reckless abandon within the confines of my mind
Some nights i would see faces of people i have never formally met, but i would look upon them like ive always known them
Other times i would escape the tendrilite grasp of mortal life and i would be swept away into the air on gorgeous white wings; looking with my own eyes down onto the earth
And a few times i would feel, oh so vividly, the touch of a woman
My hands, much like talons, taking her like she was my own
Engorging myself with a rare opportune moment of per self centeredness and greed
However fragile peace may be, it was the last bastion of mortality i had
Fortune would not have it; i would never again have a dream
Sleep was the last to leave me
I cant remember the last time i shut my eyes
I havent a single shred of memory for what it is to awaken
A single notebook is all that remains of my dreams
And reading them has become a small, fleeting task
Something to simply fill time
For each time i do it, it is new
Reading a fraction of my former life is like meeting a stranger
In hopes that maybe the dream i share with all those around me will end
Someday i will wake up, and perhaps then i will die
Maybe when i finally forget everything, all things of what it is to be
Perhaps i will die, and be born again
I can only hope to awaken, to know that things have changed
Mar 25, 2016
Mar 25, 2016 at 12:42 AM UTC
A heart
that just wants
to be what it is..
without edit needed,
to avoid punishment
or worse yet,
counterfeit imitation
So why not we
stoke up
the gaslight flame
and color it all, empty
or count it all
to that of self gain
nullifying the good
down to that of
everyday, commonplace
or that of an every day
self-centeredness..
making
every single bit of this,
un-fixable
Jan 11, 2021
Jan 11, 2021 at 10:09 AM UTC
Story of my life....
My criminal offense
I did 2 years in a cage
Got sent away for loving you
I participated and didn't call it off
I was an accomplice to love
I was there for you, with you
Played a part in your love affair
Then you trapped me in your circle of promises
Broken promises
I went to jail for your own sins
Dishonesty, untrustworthy, alcoholism irresponsible, careless, self-centeredness sexist, ungrateful, unapologetic
Should've known better
That **** got me locked up
Got released but am on probation
Had to do a little bit of snitching...introspection
Got lucky, things could've went pear shaped
Pulled myself together now I got to testify
Tell the whole world how you molested my trust
How you emotionally ***** me
How you beat my heart to a pulp
How I couldn't stop you though I tried
I have to confess all of that
Else I am facing a life sentence of abuse, brokenness and loneliness
I have to testify against you
and set myself free from binding chains
So help me God to tell the truth
And finally get to walk away
Mar 8, 2016
Mar 8, 2016 at 2:32 PM UTC
It hurts cause I'm well aware
You simply do not have room in your own self centeredness to care
I know, cause I've been there
I'm still there
Jun 25, 2015
Jun 25, 2015 at 11:53 AM UTC