Planting Dandelions

Survival of the fittest.
I'm a proud weed; a nonconformist.

Interesting perspective, poet.

I wonder if you realize that what you just said is exactly what I am talking about in this poem and my last "The Echo that Never Fades Away".
"I know what you are trying to say
But I hear the echo that never ends"

Pride is one of the 7 Deadly sins for a reason.

"Pride Is One Seed"

One seed is masked in infancy  
With its intoxicating allure  
Its sexy remedy  
Impersonating ones esteem  
Inseminating the mind with arrogance  
An artificial substitute for confidence  
Yet this sweetener tastes un-Equal  
Stroking the ego  
Through external heights that excite  
Attempting to ascend it's slippery slope
Each icy step slides one down tenfold
Leading to a bitterness deep within  
Fueling a growing resentment  
For all that is physically different  
Forgetting that at the core we are One  
We are the same  
Letting go of who you are not  
Is the key to setting us all free  
As part of you is a part of me and we  
And in One we are all together  
Our commonality is the seed of our equality  
Yet in the end to ascend in parallel
Imperious souls must atone and reparate
In ways silver pieces cannot compensate  
For the shame I carry for four hundred years of hate  
Cannot be let go of by one alone  
It must instead be released by One together  

"Survival of the fittest" is the law of the jungle. As humans, we should have left that law in the jungle, along with pride. We did not write it in the Constitution for good reason. It is not in the Bible for good reason. The only place that pride is mentioned in the Bible is as a deadly sin. It took a lot of contemplation over several years for me to understand and let go of the idea that pride was a corrupting force rather than an inspirational feeling leading to accomplishment, but I did finally come to that determination. Letting go of the things that choke us and hold us back from reaching our potential is not conformity, it is the opposite. Conformity is embracing the hatred that is national pride or religious pride or racial pride or personal pride or whatever kind of pride because the seed sprouts and grows and spreads. Rubbing the pretty yellow flower on your cheeks is a sign to others to accept the weed into your life and conform to their collective hate...
JJ

Okay, first, I was a third-world missionary and teacher. I have read the bible cover-to-cover over half-a-dozen times. Therefore, for future reference, you're preaching to the choir about its contents. Secondly, your perspective isn't gospel. There are other perspectives and ways to view things. Only the poet truly knows the meaning of the poem. And, as art, the reader has an opportunity to allow it to speak to them through their own filter. Third, when I say "I am a weed" I am referring to those like Jesus who were non-conformists growing wild and spreading the seeds of truth and love across the manicured lawns of corruption that prevent others from fully growing. Lastly, and for no reason in particular, yellow is my favorite color. Have a nice day. :)

I, like most people, feel compelled to voice my opinion, especially when I disagree and especially when it pertains to my poetry. I believe what I do, very strongly and what I believe is that pride is a monster that only exists in the minds of those whose gardens need weeding. My hope is that like me, you will one day change your mind. Clearly I cannot do that, just as my brother could not change my mind when he tried to tell me about the true nature of pride in 1993. It took many years and experiences before the words of Rev. Martin Luther King jr. reached my eyes in his sermon "the Drum Major Instinct". His words opened my eyes after years of wrestling with what my brother said and feeling intense anger at him for contradicting what I believed so strongly about pride being a good thing. The feeling can only be related with a quote from "Amazing Grace", "I was blind but now I see". It does no good to read the Bible from cover to cover if you reject the word. I went to Catholic school and church through my youth, read it hundreds of times, often forced to read aloud in class by nuns I thought were witches without broomsticks who most certainly could not have been behaving in a way Jesus would have. Pride got in their way...

"I believe what I do, very strongly and what I believe is that pride is a monster that only exists in the minds of those whose gardens need weeding. My hope is that like me, you will one day change your mind."    
     
What are you trying to say? How do I need to change? My opinion of how I viewed your poetry? It's one thing to discuss poetry, but another altogether to label people who view things differently as needing to change their minds.  You, as the "many others" you reference MAY feel compelled to voice your opinion in regards to your poetry. That is YOUR right. Many of us allow the reader to filter in their own way. That is our right. Neither is wrong. Period.    
     
"We do not see the world as it is but as we are." From your responses you obviously see it (and me) as having something to do with pridefulness, whereas I don't. And, since you feel so compelled to force the meaning of your poem into one box of interpretation for those who would interpret it differently, I have to wonder if you truly learned your lesson regarding pride at all. Because, you see, only pride has to be right. Whereas humble doesn't.

Wow, I can't believe you just wrote that, but I liked it anyway. At least you are expressing how you feel.
But please allow me to tell you why I said that...
You said, and I quote:
"I'm a proud weed"
You said that, not me. I did not accuse you, you accepted the guilt within your own words. Go look, it's right there in your first comment. Was I supposed to ignore that? You can comment all you want on my poem. That statement was not a comment on my poem, it was your own definition of you. You see yourself as a prideful weed. Who am I to argue that? I just want you to let go of your pride, to weed your own garden. I can't do that for you. Only you can pull the weeds from your own heart. It is painful, believe me, I know how much it hurts. But those weeds are choking you, holding you back, killing your soul. Let go!

Oh, I also like that others are quietly liking your comments because my choir is growing and my preaching is reaching them, even though they don't realize it. Just as my brother planted the seed in my mind, I am planting it in theirs. Two likes plus mine, two minds that will be bothered along with yours, annoyed and angered as I was. It may take years, but someday, the words you read in the Bible will take root and you will be enlightened. Well, I can only hope...  
JJ

I am laughing. Seriously. I mean laughing. You obviously missed this part of my next response:    
   
"Third, when I say 'I am a weed' I am referring to those like Jesus who were non-conformists growing wild and spreading the seeds of truth and love across the manicured lawns of corruption that prevent others from fully growing."    
   
There is no guilt in my words. I am proud to be a nonconformist. My actions speak for my heart daily because words fail. We are taught by a system of religion that pride in ourselves is a sin. That we shouldn't be proud of who we are, how we look, what we do because it's a sin. We are taught to quench these feelings down deeply into us for fear of how it looks.    
   
I am proud of who I am. I am proud of the life I live. I am proud of what the Universe had blessed me with. I am proud of my family. I am proud of my friends. I am proud of both mine and their accomplishments. I am proud of the poets on this site. I am proud of this site. I am proud of the poetry that is written here. I am proud to have the opportunity for this conversation.    
   
You see, pride has different meanings too. If your definition of pride will allow you to see that.  

Lastly, where you see a weed I see hope. Therein lies the difference in us.

You are digging your own hole deeper...  
I did not miss what you said after the fact. Your attempt to clarify is called "back-peddling". But then, you just did it again and doubled down...  
"I am proud to be a nonconformist."  
Etc, etc, etc...  
After denying that you are pride-filled, you then went on to list off the following things you are proud of.  
"I am proud of who I am.  
I am proud of the life I live.  
I am proud of what the Universe had blessed me with.  
I am proud of my family.  
I am proud of my friends.  
I am proud of both mine and their accomplishments.  
I am proud of the poets on this site.  
I am proud of this site.  
I am proud of the poetry that is written here.  
I am proud to have the opportunity for this conversation."    
Filled with all that you are proud of, I wonder how long until you explode.  
Clearly you reject the Bible you have read from cover to cover. You reject pride as a sin, yet embrace it in all aspects of your life. My poem is about weeding pride out of humanity. It breeds hate and in todays world, hate is literally killing people, not just on the inside, but outside in the streets. It must be stopped and the only way to do it is to acknowledge it within ourselves and kill the weed before it kills us all!!!

WHOOOOOSH!

Pride is uplifting, it raises us up above others within our own minds. Individually or as nations, being lifted up to feel better than others by definition means we are looking down on others, viewing them as smaller, lesser humans, lesser nations, lesser religions. And yet, all the while it does this, it blinds us to a deeper feeling that is growing in everyone. Hatred is a monster of the most monstrous kind. It actually makes us feel good, provides us with false power and if we join together with other haters, we can gain power over them. Our confidence will escalate into arrogance and we can call of nation "the greatest country in the world". Gee, where have I heard that before?

"A proud weed" and a "nonconformist." I dig that. I can't say that I don't find myself liking the weeds more and more.

And, JJ, cute thinking as always!!!


-Jessica Dawn

having read the unfolding arguments I am going to take the poem as it is, ignoring religious metaphors - it is a poem about gardening - that is all :-)

There is actually no religious content within the poem, nor spiritual meanings at all. That all came about in comments. The poem, very simply is a metaphor for pride and how it leads to hatred. It does not need for there to be any religion in it for that to be true. I would have labeled it spiritual if that was what I was getting at. It's just that the world is overflowing with hatred and people are being killed in the streets, so I decided to philosophize about where all the hatred is coming from. It all seems so obvious to me.
Thanks for commenting David!
JJ

I concur with your view that pride leads to hatred. Pride only exists  where somebody or group of people are being put down or trodden on.

When I was a little girl I had the cutest little dress with printed dandelions and sunflowers on it, my Sunday's best! The beginning of this ink reminds me of pleasant nostalgic memories.

"And when the flowers turned fluffy and white
I picked the white balloons and blew them into the air
Drifting on the breeze under parachutes spreading seeds
Landing where there once was untainted fertile soil" <-- I love the way your words were weaved in these lines.

The tone towards the end changed my perception of what the poem was truly about. Wonderfully written, nonetheless....and I can truly appreciate the respectful dialogue within the comments.... xo

Thanks for the love Rain!

Like all good things come to an end so does our childhood

Yes, but unfortunately, all too often, childhood is replaced with hatred. If only we could be gardeners instead of becoming the ones who choke our children's futures by passing on fear, greed and pride...
Thanks for commenting poedelkietjie!
JJ

Deep philisophical metaphor that grows deeper from the weight of hate on the shoulders of humanity. Great write jj!

Thank you Heather!

...feels like I'm sitting at a night time coffee shop reading this from a book. (per the audio)  :)  

I read this at the coffee shop down the street from my house, so it could be more than a feeling. Thank you Rain!
JJ