The Messengers – 11th April 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen

Shared with Momoetry April Poet Month challenge – free verse and inspired by this quote

“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”

― Pema Chödrön

The actions were not mine
yet I filled them with disappointment,
taking offence where none was intended;
– there’s a message here for me.

I landed face-first in a puddle of mud
and couldn’t deflect the embarrassment
by laughing and wiping it off;
– there’s a message here for me.

When you poke a finger deeper into my wounds
you are not affected by my irritations,
in fact, they may spur you on;
– there’s a message here for me.

When the rewards came your way,
only resentment came along mine
and I could easily justify that feeling;
– there’s a message here for me.

When all that resentment bubbled over,
a daily garbage collection of anger,
regrettable bitter words were unleashed;
– there’s a message here for me.

If I could only just be like you,
yet not be filled with a jealousy
that I use to punish myself further;
– there’s a message here for me.

I’m so stuck here with this other me,
paralysed by an illogical fear,
that I can’t live without this other;
– there’s a message here for me.

Lucky for me I found the perfect teacher,
The angel on the other shoulder
that speaks with clarity
to deliver these messages.

2 thoughts on “The Messengers – 11th April 2025”

  1. I love the “there is a message here for me.” For me, the message is I am about to have to come egg someone’s house for you and withthe price of gas and eggs it’s going to be an expensive trip.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Nicole Smith Cancel reply