"undervalued" poems
streetlights ignite
the darkness after nightfall
setting the shadows ablaze
and, all the while,
remain endlessly
unprecedented unattractive unappreciated and unnoticed
despite their best intentions
and unaltered loyalty to illuminate our nights
without them, nighttime wanderers
would be absorbed by the night
and not be seen til morning
they are the only guides left
when twilight swallows the adventurous whole
so this is a thank you
to the undervalued streetlights
Jun 22, 2013
Jun 22, 2013 at 9:37 PM UTC
I think of you
the same way
modern society thinks of hygiene.
You are severely undervalued by most
and eternally needed.
Feb 11, 2013
Feb 11, 2013 at 1:57 AM UTC
It’s something about the
way you say pathetic,
the words sting and burn
like the shots of a diabetic.
Overused and undervalued
by a simply judged fanatic.
The looks you cast,
as I slink past,
are all but few and
far between,
let alone sporadic.
May 5, 2012
May 5, 2012 at 2:16 PM UTC
Running the gauntlet down Midchester Road,
A veritable suburb of Gleethorpes City,
You pass a line of house-castles
Of the well to do.
But don’t be fooled
By what you see,
For I know someone
Who lives there.
And he will tell you,
Of bountiful gardens
Stripped bare
And concreted over
So that families can park their fleets
Of expensive cars.
See those conservatory extensions
And widened pavements.
A lady poses,
Doing her best
To emulate the Kardashians.
Money attracts
No end of thugs
And dodgy dealers:
Swarming parasitic wasps
Around the honey ***
Nights of drunken revellers
From the local pub:
Swaying from trees
And kicking cans about.
Boy racers tearing down the road,
Music systems booming
With a mindless
Moronic drumming.
“Where has reality gone?” asks
My despairing friend.
They have their money
Their riches,
Expensive toys
But few of them are Happy.
What happened to “Goodness” and virtue
And dreams of Utopia?
Where are the heroes
Inventors and creators?
Instead we have a world of celebrity,
In which true talent – even genius
Is ignored and undervalued.
“Where are we going?” my friend exclaims.
Things get worse and worse,
The world all in reverse.
For it’s “Unreal City”,
Far from pretty.
So have a think,
Don’t let yourself sink
Even further into the mire.
Just get real,
You know the deal,
It’s you I’m trying to inspire.
Paul Butters
© PB 2\8\2019
(with help from a bloke who lives in such a place. Same town as me).
Aug 2, 2019
Aug 2, 2019 at 6:01 AM UTC
He was love’s fool
A drop of rain
In a downpour of seasonal shame
A farthing in the fountain
Spent on wishes
Glistening in the fenlands
Of unreplenished riches
A plea, among the rustling
In a vast forest of variegated leaves
Sorrow among garrulous winds gusting
A path through
His wooded pathos
Blazed with love and lusting
Then a tear finds wing
On a falling leaf
Snapped from the limbs
by currents of heat
rockabye'd into halcyon
so misery and his companion
Forge a new coin
Thrown and flipping along an arc
A pinwheel casting solar sparks
Purling hope in a tumbling fall
promises anything can happen
To anyone
Anytime
at all
Sep 29, 2014
Sep 29, 2014 at 4:49 PM UTC
You were one of the first to teach me about value.
You helped me gain independence, little by little.
I shared my desires with you and you helped me to fulfill them.
Sometimes I needed just that little bit more and there you were,
Ready to pitch in and help out.
I remember a smile breaking onto my face with the very glimpse of you,
Your shining face gleaming at me from afar.
Sometimes those you thought were your friends would just toss you away,
But not me, not ever.
I cherish you for everything you are worth and then some.
You have always been unique, different than all the rest I would come across.
You have your own look.
Yes, you may look similar to others in one way,
But with a quick flip you are shining again like only you can.
Time may tarnish your gleam, but no matter how rugged you get you will always be of worth.
Special childhood moments come back to me now.
Holding you in my sweaty little palm, I would fill with excitement
Knowing you were about to deliver to me the sweetness of my dreams.
All I needed was you and maybe a few more of your friends.
And off we’d go to spend a Saturday afternoon in delightful company.
Seniors would push you away, unwanted, undervalued.
They would take one quick glance to see if they recognized you.
Then they would pass you on to a youngster,
As if they had far too much of you to care for more.
But not me, I would swoop you up and run off, delighted.
Now you are to be no more. No replacements.
You will be allowed to discolour and erode with age as so many of your ancestors have done.
But to me, you will always be the highly valued shining copper penny
Who taught me to count, to value goals and how to use money to attain some of them.
And most importantly, how to take the first steps towards my independence.
Oct 6, 2013
Oct 6, 2013 at 1:25 PM UTC
Every time you write you get this sparkle in your eyes
A supreme gleam that is your dream to win the grand prize
Between the King and Queen, you're just the joker going nowhere
But you're my turtle and I am your hare
You finish first even when all odds are stacked against you
Undervalued and underestimated, no one understands, no one knows
Better when empty; the bottle spins and lands on eenie meenie miny Poe
No need for gin and tonic, you're iconic without the sin
Paper may be thin but the words on it crawl under my skin
Your pen may bleed through but only because you put your heart on the page
You may age but your poetry will not be caged by thyme or sage
People can try but no matter what you type up, it will never be as good as what comes from his rib cage
Nov 19, 2013
Nov 19, 2013 at 1:34 AM UTC
For many years
I felt tormented and undervalued,
now I have a lot more peace.
If I live with my heart on my sleeve
it may hurt at times but at least I know that
I did the right things for the right reasons.
I used to worry about next year or next month
but if I can just be happy in the moment
and live through today with positivity and being present,
I feel that is the best chance at happiness.
May 1, 2019
May 1, 2019 at 11:50 AM UTC
I love the costume you wear
Discounted and undervalued
But I see it for its true colors
It's a method, a mood, a mystery
How after so much pain
You're still here somehow, and smiling.
I love the costume you wear
Ocean blue sadness
Veiled by the violet warmth of your acceptance
Indescribably beautiful melancholy
Like the sunrise I watched today
The night wistfully accepting the inevitable morning
Knowing that midnight's velvet comfort will once again return.
I love the costume you wear
But I wish you wouldn't hide your true colors within
Its fierce red curtained folds
Or behind those miserably memorized monologues that just don't ring true
It's like you've got stage fright but
The stage is yourself.
I love the costume you wear
But come with me
And let's dance until the pain glows like the sun and becomes beautiful
Until the moon lights your way and you are no longer afraid
Until the wind takes your hand and you can release the curtain and let go
Until you can drop the script and let your words fly like birds, of their own accord
And until you can embrace the world
With only your heart, your smile, and yourself
And dance beyond it all, freely.
Aug 21, 2016
Aug 21, 2016 at 6:34 PM UTC
Today I met a man who didn't like surprises,
I met a women who didn't like consistency.
I saw a friend that undervalued himself.
Another that sold herself.
I've done pills before,
shared bottles and beds too,
I think it's called damage control,
Or a colorful past on my wall,
You can hear it, feel it with every step I take,
A concert of every foot fall and shake.
You can even hear the child's heart beating,
At least I think it's still alive.
You can hear the surprising rhythm it carries,
Not a single beat of consistency.
Its kind of like you,
You are ineffable, not un-f'-able.
May 20, 2011
May 20, 2011 at 8:41 PM UTC
Under the sun, you shine like the incarnation of youth
At nightfall you glow, like you just made love to the moon
You are elegance, you are patience, you are reflection, you are still
Your beauty shines from your inside out,
Reaching outward upward into the skies,
Your branches know no realm too high,
Your roots know no soils too deep
There are no limits to your courage
Under the sun
Your fruitful seeds spill out over your skin
You are open hands and generosity
You are selflessness
Under the moon
You are wisdom, enlightenment and truth
You are humility and grace
But your sacredness is undervalued at best, neglected and challenged
They raid you, from your insides out
Deep inside your mines and your waters so deep
Scavenging for a dollar
exploiting all they reap
******* the air right out of your lungs
You are exhaustion, you are bare
You are forgotten
Yet still your tides rise and fall with the moon
You are forgiveness, you are hopeful, you are inspiration
In your image I will teach my children to grow
Through your eyes, I will show them the world
With your hands I will build their home
Aug 11, 2011
Aug 11, 2011 at 8:00 PM UTC
Ella Fitz’s rendition of Dream a Little Dream for the umpteenth time.
Louie comes in tune with that righteous horn.
I drink more as I sing along, off key.
There could be an entire SECTION of books written about us.
How we fell into that great whirlwind.
How we learned to hate the world when we didn’t have each other.
How we re-kindled, for that brief, brief time.
How I thought maybe we could love again.
We had hours that turned to days that turned to months.
We were the perfect piece of short fiction
An art form so gloriously undervalued,
(by both the audience and the creators)
Until we found ourselves in the Middle
(the worst feeling in the world.
Because like purgatory or super glue:
you're stuck.)
We said goodbye.
And I found I had residual emptiness.
I became residual emptiness.
I loved again, but it wasn’t anything
Like the masterpiece we had.
I knew because
Every day with him felt real.
Every day with you
Was a dream.
Something rooted in intangibility
Something I was astonished to find
happening to me.
It happened again-
We found ourselves in the same place
At the same time.
And after just a few weeks,
You gave me the greatest gift:
The indignity of silence.
And you gave me it
For the most ignoble reason—
You’re afraid.
Honey bun,
We’re all afraid.
It made me think
That maybe the story of you and I
can only have a happy ending
in a place where it’s not so scary.
So me, Louie and Ella all ask you,
That
In your dreams
Whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me.
[Because that's the only place you'll find me now.]
Oct 28, 2012
Oct 28, 2012 at 4:21 PM UTC
Drown out the laughs with your own internal screams.
Now you wish for that undervalued state of oblivion.
Mar 23, 2021
Mar 23, 2021 at 9:36 PM UTC
daydreaming is getting stronger
one of the unsung heroes
in every ones life
May 5, 2014
May 5, 2014 at 8:34 AM UTC
What’s help for if we’re not allowed to ask for it?
The disquiet head turns and eye shifts
Of people who have never felt
Have never endured
The anxiety of short breaths and wide eye whites
Wanting to sob and stuttering on silence
– shunning non-believers.
Did they know muscles choke?
They try to sink the lungs into giving them no oxygen, no relief,
When every new breath is a fresh
Batch of sewer water clogging throats.
What to do with these torments,
Better hidden still than cuts
On wrists (those cries for help),
The ones that show only in the rifts
Of a discarded soul, a stepped self,
An undervalued confidence.
Help? I cried my cry for help,
And was rewarded with one very
Awkward
Silence.
Nov 17, 2013
Nov 17, 2013 at 4:03 PM UTC
What worth is a flow’r to a bunch; and its hidden message?
Or if ev’n a cherry; to a box of chocolates indulged in, and gild’d?
As ev’n what worth is a drop to a summer’ rain in fall.
Or the autumn zephyr to a winter wind unceasing?
Its essence, finesse untold; undervalued.
Quantity; is it not what our hearts seeks, unabashed, unrelenting.
When it must, it should instead quality.
So as the sole dewdrops, from the ***** of the heavens descend
And, that seeks refuge in a flow’r bud silent, and tacit
So too does a tear drop, from the jewel of the eye
In a hearts element, succour.
Aug 5, 2014
Aug 5, 2014 at 10:33 AM UTC
I'm excavating strained crevices in complete caves of royal silence,
A coil of better-left-behinds trail me
Frail me,
Bear in mind that I'm to blame.
Brute valor left undervalued
Caliber I drowned to death in her
A messenger of baptized alibis
Who am I who am I
Distant soundscapes of times ago
Blue-light memories aglow
I thought this was what I wanted…
If (only) I told you all my vaulted causes,
My daunted losses haunted with flaunted gauzes
I could have had what I always daydream of
But the day seems to have, still, just begun.
Apr 19, 2013
Apr 19, 2013 at 4:46 AM UTC
A gift bestowed me kindness
The warmth of your thought my crown
But came with it one deviant voice
Whom if I spoke would let you down
The small voice belonged a girl
Who might long-ago have said thank you
For the very same small gift she went
Onto forget and break through
And I do feel so unkind
For thinking things, questioning why
When I know you only shared it
'Cause it's now me who makes you shine.
...
(There is a conflict in my head
Between my waking and half-dead,
Where I judge my deemed importance
As menial, in your head)
To myself I know it's preposterous.
But at times I'm wont to think this way.
If you save that bit of love
that you made another girl
Should I feel special or dishonored,
Or ungrateful, for asking
I am a hypocrite, when I say
Nothing on earth should go to waste
When I do secretly wonder
Why you kept the old remains
of things for someone who was not worth it
And give them to me, if I'm so special?
Am I not special enough to earn
something I inspired you to love?
Or have I just the trust and merit to guard keepsakes
others sewn and snagged you from?
Please do not take this to mean that it is undervalued,
I really do love it so much.
I'm just bitter hands besides ours have wrapped around your heart
Despite knowing that the both of us have contributed that part
It's a truth of life I must respect, as I too, had past remains
I was just lucky enough, that those I'd shared with, were good and kept them safe.
Apr 14, 2013
Apr 14, 2013 at 5:47 PM UTC
The value's not dictated,
by how hard it is for me?
I think finally i get it.
I think finally i see.
Just because I find it easy,
doesn't make it less.
Just means that its a skill,
with which I have been blessed.
For the longest time I struggled,
to know the worth of things I do.
But now I see the value lies,
In how hard it is for you.
Jul 16, 2010
Jul 16, 2010 at 10:20 AM UTC
I wasn't sure of
those words, that holy
trinity pressed to give back,
until your heart stuttered systolic.
Contracted, you underplayed every line as
I fought, undervalued, omitted and flat-lined
that singular skip your two-fisted, beated rhythm
warning beacon, red-flashing, blaring signal flared sign
granted every second second of each stolen time, when those
planets and these stars became so fiercely yet finitely aligned,
yes, I understand now, as we lay entwined, cyclic, chest
deep, life-defying leap, gasp of breath, wake from
sleep, it is this that I seek, sunlight unconfined
crushing breath divine, beat of two, separate
singular, unexpected yet still
defined in-kind, of your
continuation bringing
life back to mine.
Dec 28, 2016
Dec 28, 2016 at 1:01 PM UTC
When the economy tanks
Unregulated globalized free market capitalism run amuck
People are told to be thankful to have a job
Even if you are miserable with that job
And with service sector jobs making up 80% of employment
Misery is widespread
Underpaid, undervalued, underappreciated
We are human beings for ***** sake
We are starved for more than selling shoes
If being thankful for misery is the best option
It's time to re-evaluate
Jan 16, 2015
Jan 16, 2015 at 12:58 PM UTC
Sometimes I think that
Love's undervalued
Sometimes I believe that
We should be more free
To express and believe what
We feel inside
Sometimes I think that
You don't feel my gaze
Yet sometimes I believe that
You are just afraid
Too many things are left unspoken,
Yeah - you understand what I'm trying to say.
This is what I know when
I'm alone -
This is what I think when
I am cold-
Even if it isn't said in words
You know what is true
By the way that you act and react.
And when your gaze locks into mine
When I feel your smile shine
You know, I know you know,
I breathe differently.
Sometimes I think that
We are locked inside
Sometimes I believe that
We cannot escape
The armored cages we lock
Ourselves into
Too many things are left unspoken,
Yeah - you understand what I'm trying to say.
This is what I know when
I'm alone -
This is what I think when
I am cold-
Even if it isn't said in words
You know what is true
By the way that you act and react.
Do your hands get sweaty?
Does your neck crane to see me?
Do you feel what I do,
Or am I just a foolish girl?
And when your gaze locks into mine
When I feel your smile shine
You know, OH you know... (pause)
I breathe differently.
I breathe differently.
I'm feeling differently.
The effect you have on me...
This is how I feel
And when your gaze locks into mine
When I feel your smile shine
You know, OH you know...
(looong pause)
I breathe differently.
© 3/13/13
Mar 13, 2013
Mar 13, 2013 at 10:40 PM UTC
I want to say thank you.
If you didn’t leave me, I wouldn’t be here now.
But I don't know if I can mean it.
Some said you did your best, but did you really?
You could’ve stopped the drugs, gone to rehab
But did you? No you did not.
I try not to be angry with you, but you made it difficult
I know you say you changed, but you’ve said that before.
I can’t help but be angry
You left me and I thought I forgave you, but maybe I truly can't.
I do love you but i dont know if I can call you my father…
Chris has been more of a dad to me in these 4 years than you were for most of my life.
I know, we had good years, but we had more bad.
You were my best friend, but I wasn’t yours.
I know you loved me but you had a horrible way of showing it.
You made me feel undervalued and unappreciated.
Even when you get out, I might have to say bye for a while.
I thought I could see you again, but I’ve worked so hard for myself.
Seeing you will make me go backwards again.
It’ll bring back all the memories
I know the effect it’ll have on me
The effect it will have on those around me.
If I see you again, I’ll start being angry at home.
I can't explain it but I know it’ll happen.
I might get depressed, and I can’t afford to do that again.
Every time you left me, it got easier to say goodbye.
I couldn’t physically cry after a while.
I was left to comfort your ex while she balled her eyes out and used your drugs.
I wish I could forgive you
I wish I could thank you,
But I can’t mean it.
Aug 30, 2025
Aug 30, 2025 at 1:20 PM UTC
What do you want to hear???
It remains to stay clear…
I can go back 100’s of years…
Different people…
Different times…
Different Obstacles they had to climb…
They connected and made groups and formed bonds..
You can easily tell the difference by the decade…
They appear in different forms but they all were followers….
So me I’m careful of all my bonds…
I wonder how history will remember me…
The one that stood out…
Or the one that was easily forgot about…
See lil ol’ forgot about me…
Didn’t lose my soul in a money bag…
I lost my mind in a book…
So maybe that’s why I’m overlooked…
But I’m undervalued…
Whats the price of education…
A leg and a arm..
And a promise to do no harm..
What you going to do with all that money???
And all them guns???
When you can barely hit your target instead…
You hit a little kid, who was too tired from having fun…
So she was unable to run…
And so now she lay dead..
So now them diamonds in your ear…
Them rims on your car…
Them so called friends that are no longer here…
Were they really worth it???
Who am I talking to???
Well it depends on Who’s listening…
The “Truth” they dont want to hear…
Well I’m a poet so I’m going to take you there…
Everybody got flowers and dressed in all black…
To grieve for a soul that they wish they could have back…
Tears from her mother…
Angry shouts from her father…
You want to give your condolences…
But don’t bother…
Because nothing you can say will bring their little angel back…
Ignorance is Bliss…
I cant tell you where you came from..
But I can tell you where you going..
Heaven or Hell…
As the bible tells…
Read and You’ll know..
Only listen and you might not hear…
Ask the Lord question…
And when HE knows you are ready…
He’ll answer…
Question is will you accept his answer???
This isn’t what you want to hear..
But this is what you need to hear..
So will any of yall shed a tear 4 the angel that is no longer here??
Or do the Devil have control over your ears???
Nov 7, 2012
Nov 7, 2012 at 9:35 PM UTC
I'm starting to understand that I have learned to say
"I'm sorry" when people are cruel to me, and
"Thank you" when they undervalue me.
Don't let your life teach you that.
Eventually you blacken your lungs with it.
Eventually you're jonesing for it when you should be indignant or angry or proud.
Don't learn to survive.
Learn to live.
Cause it's a lot harder to do when you have to start in the middle.
The people who hear the most apologies from me are the ones who are hurting me.
The people who get the most of my gratitude are often the people who give me the least.
It's backward. It's dangerous.
It's what happens when you learn all alone.
You learn the wrong way to get to the right goal.
And eventually it starts to ******* you, and it dawns on you that you need to change, to recover, to quit, and you just don't know how.
Don't let your life teach you to be sorry.
To be grateful when you're underestimated and undervalued.
It will try. People will try.
The world pushes.
I wish someone had ever told me that it's okay not to be contrite,
That I should demand what I deserve,
That when I am cast aside or ignored, it isn't something I could have prevented if I'd simply been
Better, happier,
Easier,
More humble.
Because that thought right there ruins people.
Love yourself.
Do it quick, before someone else gets it.
Learn to thank yourself, to forgive yourself, before you turn around one day and discover
That someone else's eyes hold your galaxy.
Because love is wonderful, but...
I wish I'd had time to learn not to be afraid,
To learn to fight back,
To learn that being quiet is highly overrated,
Before I learned that somebody's smile could fill every empty part of my heart I'd ever cried over.
If you are still young inside, this is your chance.
Love yourself. Don't apologize. Don't lower your eyes. Don't restrain yourself.
Do not let this world teach you to be owned.
Love,
Someone who learned too well.
Jun 19, 2014
Jun 19, 2014 at 4:03 PM UTC