I Am Nothing

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Yelling Rosa

I am a relatively old man
And I am nothing even
If I were Picasso or Shakespeare.
Only those who are about to come
Are something and then nothing
When they are on earth
But those who will come next.
I don’t mind if I am disliked by
Other people because I tell the
Truth as long as I can
Hope that one soul in this world
Will hear what I have said
And speak the way I did
At the evening of life:
People are stupid
When they are smart
Because they forget
To love and hand over
And keep places clean.

Every generation must muzzle
The egoism and egoists
Or the cock of honor won’t
Sing for them and they will be
Despised long after their death.
Every spoiled cornfield
And murdered nation are
On their shoulder and their
Children will be hated
Till the third generation.
Everything is not possible
But nothing is impossible.
The only certainty between
Those two unknown edges
Is love not isms, things
Or hollow arguments.
The all hearts know it
And ask us to give up from
The selfishness for the sake
Of unborn creatures.
© Yelling Rosa
1.24.15

Something about the background of this poem

When I taught about this subject I pondered if I am the right person to speak about these things. I have many shortages. Still of what use it would be, if I kept my mouth shut? If we expected that only the perfect people could speak about virtues, there wouldn’t be very much talk about them and less hope. First we have to have an idea, and after that we know where to go.

I was strengthened to write this poem by a Roman proverb, namely: Inhumanitas omni aetate molesta est (Cicero). Which means, more or less, that Inhumanity is troublesome in every generation? This proverb encourages us to fight against the inhumanity and it must do all over again from the generation to the generation.

I know that I might be disliked because of this poem but there are so many bloggers on Internet who write about leisure time activities that I don’t have to do that. It is not my thing.

Tornio 25.1.2015
YR

Cicero (106-43 AD), Roman Statesman and Orator. Read more about him here.

About Yelling Rosa

I am retired. In my spare time I read, write, play the guitar and hike. I have published three verse books in Finnish and recorded my songs. You can listen to them on YouTube. I have translated some of my poems on Yelling Rosa's Weblog. I also like to watch movies. Olen kiinnostunut lukemisesta, kirjoittamisesta, kitaransoitosta ja luonnossa vaeltamisesta. Olen julkaissut kolme runokirjaa ja laulujani on äänitteillä. Voit lukea runojani Yelling Rosan kotisivuilta ja kuunnella laulujani YouTubessa. Olen elokuvafriikki.
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37 Responses to I Am Nothing

  1. Laine Jensen says:
    January 25, 2015 at 1:42 am

    I have heard what you have said 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Maria F. says:
    January 25, 2015 at 1:53 am

    A very poignant poem Yellingrosa, I also agree the truth should prevail and be spoken, but “ignorance is bliss”, as they say.

    Like

  3. j matthew waters says:
    January 25, 2015 at 3:15 am

    your poem is a brilliant piece of art my friend

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Ginene Nagel says:
    January 25, 2015 at 6:28 am

    The spinning wheel of life, wherein the next generation doesn’t learn what the previous generations learned, through their experience, is a hopeless realization (and I have pondered about this before). Now, I am wondering if there is a reason for this endless repetition. Could this be part of some divine plan that we do not understand? I hope so. It is too disheartening to accept that we go on and on, repeating the same mistakes.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Yelling Rosa says:
      January 25, 2015 at 5:31 pm

      Hey,

      Thank you very much for your profound pondering. I have thought that problem too and one reason might be the overproduction. It created the situation where some people didn’t have to do the real work everyday. These people who formed the new social class were the quickest and genius ones. At the very beginning they were in control because the village communities were small and they were always under the villagers’ control. They were forced work more or less for the community. Most likely they didn’t have anything against that. When communities grew this normal control vanished and little by little we came in the situation where we are now.

      If we look the animal communities we see that they have leaders but these alpha males/females work for the herd while getting some extra benefits but not anything unreasonable. This truth is well-kept secret because leaders don’t want to loose what they have once got to themselves. When they protect their statuses they use the whole capacity of their intelligence. Their arguments are often far away from the common good. They are not bad people but the truth is not the easiest aspect to accept because it showed that the whole humankind is on the wrong tracks.

      It is often said that there is no common truth but this is one of those arguments with whom we hide the facts. When there is no fresh air to breathe that is the common truth which cannot be twisted by philosophical or political mumbo jambo. Some people say that God will make the end of this miserable world. Even this were true it is God who wants to decide the time for that and He will be very angry if we stole the show. All individuals die and that is the common truth. Only thing living ones can do to make themselves immortal is to keep this place clean so that the generations to come have place to come. In their minds we can live longer and that is a very common truth.

      And it is true that I wish you all the best what ever you do and wherever you go 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  5. davidprosser says:
    January 25, 2015 at 7:47 am

    It’s not necessary to agree with someone to appreciate that what they say comes from the heart. I doubt anyone will dislike you for saying what you feel since we afford them the same right.
    Hugs

    Like

  6. Barbara Franken says:
    January 25, 2015 at 9:05 am

    I love this poem and stand with you in truth… being an example too, for others to maybe glimpse the possibility of… ‘everything within the nothingness’ Barbara

    Like

  7. Darling Doormat says:
    January 25, 2015 at 11:44 am

    YR, I think the proverb is attributed to Cicero.

    Like

  8. sherazade says:
    January 25, 2015 at 6:07 pm

    well, I appreciate your Poem and its meaning : even if we are not perfect we are allowed to speak abt it and see how to reach it.
    Shera

    Like

  9. Noora says:
    January 25, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    Very evocative and intriguing poem. Thank you for sharing.

    Like

  10. Alexander Lautsyus says:
    January 26, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    Absolutely agree with your words and thoughts! Great poem!

    Like

  11. Peter Schreiner says:
    January 27, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    Actually, you are liked because of this poem and its afterword, both of which speak highly of the author.

    Like

  12. Dalo 2013 says:
    February 1, 2015 at 2:27 am

    This is such a beautiful piece of prose ~ both for its honesty as well as its brilliance.
    There is truth there, that if everyman understood we’d be that much closer to a beautiful world: “And I am nothing even, If I were Picasso or Shakespeare.” That shook me the right way. Cheers and best to you in this new (brilliant) year!

    Like

    • Yelling Rosa says:
      February 1, 2015 at 2:45 am

      Thank you for living with my poem and its idea. All we need is one another to make things better. I hope it will be our future that we respect what we have.

      I wish you also best in 2015.
      YR

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Mike says:
    February 4, 2015 at 3:08 am

    Loud’n’clear Rosa. Bring it on…encore 🙂

    Like

  15. Sophie33 says:
    February 8, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    A great cool poem! 🙂

    Like

  16. atienda says:
    February 13, 2015 at 1:59 pm

    I love this poem! incredible!!!

    Like

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