The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt.
quote by Thomas Merton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Face rather than avoid
The more you try to avoid sufferings
The more you will suffer from trivial things,
Which will occupy that place to torture you,
With the quota of suffering yet to come.
Instead, face the sufferings and finish it.
17.11.2007
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Purely Metaphysical-Letters to a Consciousness Waiting in Waste Letter X
Suffering made a brief visit in my life early this morning.
Instead of finding you last night I was found by another. She would not compete.
However mistakes had to be made in order for me to grow to the next realisation of truth.
Truth that I love you and no other.
Truth that you live and grow in my heart.
Truth that you are always in my thoughts.
Truth that I must tell you how I feel.
More and more, I grow courageous enough to express my compassion for you.
Truth is to live my life with you, freely and forever.
I will never hurt truth.
I will live and love truth.
I will know, understand and believe truth.
I will do everything I can to let you know truth.
I will not fear truth.
If you reject me, I will still love.
If you accept me, we will become love.
The truth of love
poem by Steve Bergwerff

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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There are things that you cannot avoid
There are things that you cannot avoid
like the call-up instruction which cruelly
brings you to another world and measure you out
for whom you must become and be and stay
and you can never find escape
from violence, killing, guilt and grief.
There are things that a soldier cannot avoid
like war that cruelly let people suffer
with flames, bullets and bombs
and there are events that you cannot forget,
although you and you comrades freed the innocent
and at night it’s sweated out in dreams
and there are things that you cannot avoid.
poem by Gert Strydom

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Wonder
I wonder
How many people suffer from what i suffer from
And everyone puts it down to them just being
An angry or abusive kind of a person?
So they get labelled
And misunderstood
And little sympathy goes their way
The smallest thing seems to spark them off and people steer clear
'They should learn to control themselves' these people say
So, they get angrier and angrier because they are more and more ignored when what they want is to escape the spiral they're caught in
And smile
They often say 'everything is fine' because they get scared of people, these people, suspecting that one of their 'moods' is about to happen
Better to have the pain
The pain
Of suppression
Than court rejection
But for a while, only a little while
A breathing space sort of a while
For then the pressure cooker inside begins to heat and the lid clatters loud and the steam hisses and it bounces violent on the cooker and what's inside burns and smokes and chars and grills and boils and spoils
And, yet, they say
Try to say
Everything's fine
Until the hands tingle and the head goes blurry and the redness takes them and their mouth dries and they begin to tremble and nothing's fine at all.....
And people say
People say
Best avoid
Best avoid
Best avoid
People like that
And they do.
poem by David Keig

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Comprehension...Or Torment
No one knows,
When we suffer.
Or how it is we suffer,
When suffering comes and is done...
By anyone
No one knows the extent of it.
How deep what is felt.
And when those sorrows visit to sit.
Although folks give advice and instructions.
With sections of pamphlets,
To read by professionals.
To emphasize their recommendations,
Underlined in 'red'.
Suggestions researched...
To read and ease our minds,
Before going to bed!
Hopefully not to stay awake...
To pace the floor instead.
No one knows,
When we suffer.
Or how it is we suffer,
When suffering comes and is done...
By anyone.
When suffering comes.
And alone it is done!
And listening to someone say to us to pray...
Is not a cure all or remedy,
That takes our suffering to numb quickly away.
But...
Pray we must,
And trust...
That those burdens carried,
Will be lifted up and away from us.
Knowing in our hearts...
God watches and will do His part!
No one knows,
When we suffer.
Or how it is we suffer,
When suffering comes and is done....
By anyone.
When suffering comes.
And alone it is done!
So it seems.
Only God knows how to heal and mend!
Only God knows when to send our sufferings away.
And many times with faith...
God intervenes.
Before the suffering has had a chance,
To arrive on the scene.
Depending on what it is we wish to choose.
Comprehension...
Or torment,
With unquestioned agony!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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Obedient To Fear
When I stopped lieing to myself,
Many years ago in my late 20's...
I was on my way,
To an entirely different point of view of life.
A way of life and outlook,
Not too many shared.
And as I have gotten older...
And much more persceptive.
I've noticed,
How rich with self deceit people are.
And often are closeted...
About anything that concerns truth!
The smaller the town.
The smaller the mind...
And mindsets of those controlled,
By what others think.
Although the majority of those 'thinking'...
Anything,
Are illiterate...
Dysfunctional and obedient to fear.
With a stunting of maturity done,
By severe ignorance...
Enforced upon younger generations,
Who will spend their entire lifetime being children.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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Taught To Fear And Suffer
Taught not born,
To hate.
Taught not born,
To fear.
Taught not born,
To discriminate.
And taught not born,
To jeer.
Taught not born,
To give.
Taught not born,
To take.
Taught not born to be of benefit to others.
But many bigots interfere...
With an infliction of their insecurities,
That smother one another.
Some are taught they are better than most human beings.
With a stunting of their own growth,
In isolated dreams.
And then their are those who confront others,
With obvious legitimate needs.
Ultimately to suffer from these misdeeds.
Taught not born,
To hate.
Taught not born,
To fear.
Taught not born,
To discriminate.
And taught not born,
To jeer.
Taught to greed selfishly!
Taught to deceive and steal like thieves!
And taught to cheat to succeed...
No matter who does the suffering and bleeds.
Taught to fear and suffer.
As a right,
To incite and ignite...
Fear.
As a right,
To incite and ignite...
Suffering,
Inflicted.
As a right to incite and ignite,
Fear!
Taught to fear and suffer.
As a right,
To incite and ignite...
Fear.
As a right,
To incite and ignite...
Suffering,
Inflicted.
As a right to incite and ignite,
Fear!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Beach,4 P.m. Somewhere...
as i walk along the beach
this afternoon
i give in to the child in me
picking up stones,
amazed by its colors
and shapes
i begin to make stories out
of them...stones, smaller ones,
like a creature possessed by an
enigma,
there must be an underlying
truth to its
shape, it is, as it must
be telling me about
what happens to me
after this?
is this a hurting enigma?
am i mad at my attempt to give meaning
to one without meaning?
i am interpreting a pebble
the smallness of humility the silence
of the insignificant
the wars of the sands
the struggle of the waves of the sea
chasing each other
as to who reaches the thighs of
the shore first
a mad man is reading the shores
of the sea on
a very insignificant moment of the day
the stones are writing novels
on the hot skins of the shores
people who pass me by are sparing me
of saying anything
and they refuse to look at me and give
that look
of that feeling that i must have been
one kind of
a wasted man
a child looks at me with pity
and asks, what are you doing with the pebbles?
are they speaking to you?
i am awakened by this vastness
sometimes to be found, i must experience being lost myself
in the secret labyrinths of
thought
the child is looking for play,
i do not have it.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

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How Can It Hurt
(music: marillion lyrics: steve hogarth)
Maybe youre just too upset inside to give it to me straight
Maybe youve become too angry and too close to crying to say anything I can understand
Or maybe youre just coming in over my head
Maybe youre just too upset inside too upset inside
How can it hurt if I dont understand
How can it hurt if I dont understand
How can it hurt if I dont understand
How can it hurt if I dont understand
Youre never gonna square with me I know so what is there to say?
Theres a million words that we could share tonight
Why do you walk away?
And I could write you off and its over with like a damaged car I cant afford to fix
But everything inside me wants to heal your pain
You wont explain
You wont explain
How can it hurt if I dont understand
How can it hurt if I dont understand
How can it hurt if I dont understand
How can it hurt if I dont understand
How can it hurt, how can it hurt
Well I dont understand
Well I dont understand
Tell me how can it hurt
Well I dont understand
Tell me how can it hurt
Well I dont understand
song performed by by Marillion

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Too Late
Have you heard about the hollow man?
Too frightened so he turned and ran, from the vision that he cherished so.
Couldnt see it, so he let it go.
Everybody has a secret sin.
But everybody needs a chance to win.
Anyone could see Im a man thats sad and broken by the things Ive done.
But now Im sorry that I said goodbye.
And Im sorry cause its me thats crying.
I never finished what I started to, but Im just so sorry that Im hurting you.
But its too late for us to just be friends.
And too late for anything but the end.
And too many dreams fell through our hands.
And its just too late to understand.
Now Ill never make a new beginning,
And Ill never stop the pain from winning.
Nothing matters to me anymore now.
Ive lost the things I was fighting for.
And now Im sorry that the dreams are gone,
And Im sorry cause Im not the
One who comes running when you need me so,
Cause Im the fool thats let you go.
But its too late for us to just be friends.
And too late for anything but the end.
And too many dreams fell through our hands.
And its just too late to understand.
All the tears of pain are falling down, (oh, oh, oh, oh).
All the tears of pain are falling down, and you know...
But its too late for us to just be friends.
And too late for anything but the end.
And too many dreams fell through our hands.
And its just too late to understand.
But its too late for us to just be friends.
And too late for anything but the end.
And too many dreams fell through our hands.
And its just too late to understand.
But its too late...too late...its too late...
song performed by by Omd

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tilting Windmills
A few
scribbled words.
Puny insignificant
things.
In themselves.
Yet spiritual vibrations
signalling divine power!
To rock capitalistic nations
structured exploitation crime core!
Covetous entrenched foundations.
Bullets by contrast
at their optimum.
May produce
only deadfall.
Steaming felled corpse.
Life crushed
can be taken
only once.
Guarded man
may so easily
be struck down.
But dreams
craving truth
cannot be silenced!
Visions dreamt
born to life
suffer birth pangs!
Even those garmented
in martyr’s blood!
May elevate
laboured protracted existence!
A few scribe
scribbled words.
Puny insignificant
tiny things.
In themselves.
poem by Terence George Craddock

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Smaller & Smaller
Drought makes the workers dream
Muscles and fields of green
Shovel the last few crumbs
Of generosity
Open hearts, open mind, open mouth, open vein
Drain
Someday the rains will come
My blistered hands tell me
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow
Bite
Bite
Bite
Cry
Ill keep coming back
Smaller and smaller and smaller
Squash me
Smaller and smaller and smaller
Under the charity
Smaller and smaller and smaller
Under the topsoil
Smaller and smaller and smaller
Under the fingernail
Smaller and smaller and smaller
Then small becomes all becomes all..........
Bite
Bite
Bite
Cry
Its not a mirage
Its not a mirage
Trickling downward, trickling downward
Its not a mirage
Drain
Drain
Bite
Bite
Bite
Cry
Smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller..........
song performed by by Faith No More

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What goes up
When is see the word FALL
I think about those foolish people who
with pride and prejudice
criticize and attack the under dog
I feel the pain of the downtrodden
The misunderstanding in their lives
The trails and the temptations
and the fear and frustration
The huge hole they dig in their distrust
their disbelief and their hate
causing them to miss so much
to suffer when suffering should not be
When I see the people FALL
I want to rush out and shout out loud
I want to tell them to have faith
I want to tell them to believe
I want to teach them the truth
A truth that would set them free
When I hear the word FALL
I want it to mean that they simply tripped
and that they skinned a knee
and not a soul
That's what I feel when I see the word
FALL
poem by Janice M Pickett

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Fear's taking over
I fear life,
I fear death,
I fear happiness,
And everything in between.
I fear people,
I fear animals,
I fear rodents,
And everything in between.
I fear what I don't understand,
Shit, I fear what I do understand,
I fear what noone understands,
and everybody believes,
And everything in between,
Most of all I fear tomorrow and whatever it may bring.
poem by Kill or Be killed

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Scandlious Fear
I fear life,
I fear death,
I fear happiness,
And everything in between.
I fear people,
I fear animals,
I fear rodents,
And everything in between.
I fear what I don't understand,
Shit, I fear what I do understand,
I fear what noone understands,
and everybody believes,
And everything in between,
Most of all I fear tomorrow and whatever it may bring.
poem by Kill or Be killed

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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If there is anything worthwhile doing for the sake of culture, then it is touching on subject matters and situations which link people, and not those that divide people. There are too many things in the world which divide people, such as religion, politics, history, and nationalism. If culture is capable of anything, then it is finding that which unites us all. And there are so many things which unite people. It doesn't matter who you are or who I am, if your tooth aches or mine, it's still the same pain. Feelings are what link people together, because the word "love" has the same meaning for everybody. Or "fear", or "suffering". We all fear the same way and the same things. And we all love in the same way. That's why I tell about these things, because in all other things I immediately find division.
quote by Krzysztof Kieślowski

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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The Room Gets Smaller
The room keeps getting smaller. What did I do this time? Logic is dead and gone. And time continues to move on. The room keeps getting smaller. No its not fine. I hurt someone very close and I was forewarned. Its was a mistake that created heart break. And the room get smaller. Yes I'm out of my mined. My failures are so large that I have fallen so far under par. A forty foot latter isn't high enough. God how this is going to get rough. And the room gets smaller smaller and smaller till it totters to the brink of collapse and I see the death of others coming. Its a domino effect that I created because I was too desperate. I paid the ultimate price of an unwanted sacrifice.
poem by Ace Of Black Hearts

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The Truth Whole Truth, Nuthin But The Truth
(ian hunter)
Lonely days lonely nights
Hoping things gonna turn out right
You had me hanging on a string
For you I did most anything
You dont give me no
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Its a blind mans eye baby aint no youth
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Dont need your lies I got my proof
Put your face up to my window
Ask me baby what did I see
Well I know I know you aint right
I know you aint right for me
You dont give me no
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Gods little babys got nothing to shoot
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Get your kicks on a different route
All I want is the truth
All I want is the truth
All I want is
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Blind mans eye baby aint no use
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Dont need your lies I got nothing to prove
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Gods little babys got nothing to shoot
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
Get your kicks on a different route
Dont hurt ya
Dont hurt ya
The truth dont hurt ya
The truth dont hurt ya
Dont hurt ya dont hurt ya
The truth dont hurt ya
(fade)
song performed by by Ian Hunter

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Antipoem 03
when you do not understand
that is the time you say you like it
when you tried to understand and still could not understand what you try to really understand
that is the time you say there is a mystery and we have to be prepared to
worship it, for something mysterious could be angels, could be God
understanding is understanding like a mother
she comes to you to reveal things
though slowly and you must be patient like a child
understanding is loving like a father and you must be like a son waiting for
the final advice
but you love more the things that you do not understand
things that mesmerize you and give you the sense of awe
which of course, is followed by the word, say it,
wonder. Wisdom does not begin here. Wisdom begins the moment
you begin to quit smoking.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

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Fear of...
Fear of one thing
Fear of many things
Fear of winning nothing, but just losing
Fear of life and what is called death
Fear of being too happy, only to get hurt again
Fear of something becoming nothing
Fear of losing something of much value
Fear of love becoming hate
Fear of being liked or disliked, is of the same
Fear of misunderstanding what is understood by others
Fear is of many things
But what makes fear?
~IP23
poem by Iron Panda 23

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