Flash Poetry and a Song

A Man for Whom Nothing Mattered

Reaching out to others is vital for survival. If one isolates by never considering others, the result can be hopelessness or worse.

Entitlement, lack of empathy, and isolation are danger signs for suicide adulation. When one thinks of no one but him/herself, major disappointment can follow.

Many years ago the entire world, I thought, revolved around what I was doing. In order to work these thoughts out, I wrote poetry.

I came to realize that the cause of my depression revolved around self-centeredness.

I wrote a poem about it.

It helped me to discover that other people exist in the world. I found that reaching out to them by expressing an interest in their lives, their hopes, their dreams, and their challenges helps to get to know them better.

Understanding others is the best engagement one can have in their community.

I prefer being counted on than counting on someone else.

And what I give out, I get back.

Bruno Mars expresses this well.

I discovered that a large part of helping others was acknowledging them.

The Poem:

A man for whom nothing mattered,

Except him, torn and tattered;

Who did many things in his life,

And not a thing for his wife.

He ate alone and slept alone,

A hidden person, like a dog’s underground bone.

He always looked down,

Right close to the ground.

His wife, nothing but a fixture

For other men to see as his mixture,

He stayed, along with his wife, in a bowl;

They met many, but never a soul.

Not even his own,

Or even his clone.

He listened inside his head,

And believed he was dead.

And with a frown,

He went for a swim and drowned.

You betcha that

Depression will get ya

If you don’t look around.

Reaching out to others exists as circles of obligation, from the inner circles of family and friends to the outer ones of people who offer us services and pass us on the street.

All need to be treated well through acknowledgment. The reactions from them to these overtures will be what they may.