𝕊𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕃𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 [Poetry]

III - Dear Society..

It seems like gifts come bearing curses
And wounds that one never nurses
And one mistake leads to bodies in hearses
Yes, it seems like gifts do come bearing curses

When chosen to carry the talent I was blessed
I didn't realize I would end up pressed
The burden weighs greater than the gift
As people await the falling of the talented
Like one mistake can cause a time rift

Some get jealous of the gift I carry
Unaware of the burden I can't shoulder
A pressure increasing, never stopping
The notion that I will always be perfect in the gift that comes bearing curses
Eyes watching me as I hold it with a straight back,
When in reality, it is the gift that is holding me back.
And when I fall, all I hear is laughter
"Oh, here comes the girl, who thinks gifts come bearing curses"

I am not perfect, I am learning
And it is not a gift, it is a product of hardwork and determination,
There is no such things as talents or gifts
Or mistakes that are big enough to cause time rifts
I am aware I am taking risks
By not giving a care about what people think
About my so-called talent, gift, or skill
But that doesn't mean i don't work on myself still

If you are on either side of the spectrum
Talented, jealous, envious, zealous
Then teach or to be taught
That the talented will feel contemptous
Stop the hate, the love for harm
Stop the dispute, a war in disguise
Since when do we put each other down
When life would be better when we are all up in the clouds

•~●~•

Explanation:

This poem is different.

Because this letter was written to society, but the one who wrote it is me. In my perspective.

Originally, this piece was called "Gifts Come Bearing Curses" and I had written it a while ago with no intention to post it here, but I felt like most young readers can relate, and it makes a good letter, too.

The gifts I am talking about are "Talents" or "Skills". Basically, things you can safely say you are an expert or a professional at doing. While every gift comes with its own challenges, all share the same downside to acquiring them, which is how society views you with the knowledge that you have such a gift.

When you reveal that you are talented or skilled or gifted at drawing or writing or others, rightfully so, you now suddenly have a burden on your shoulders; To please society by helping it and amusing it with your skills.

Unfortunately, it can be common to make a mistake, especially because we are all humans and bound to make mistakes to learn, but society can shame the skilled for their mistakes, which can birth a very dangerous mindset to aim for perfection and a self-esteem built on their ability to please society by their skills and abilities, which, some of you can tell, is as brittle and weak as a mountain of laid-out playing cards.

I have been a subject of so, always being laughed at when I do a silly yet honest mistake in the things I have passion to do. I have seen unexperienced people criticise my work in many fields without knowledge of what they are talking about, and it is really not so encouraging, and I found myself at times wondering if it was worth it to bear the gifts that come with such a curse.

I might not have acheived that, yet, but in the poem, the last two verses are filled with hope and determination to stop caring about what people think, to practise said gifts with passion and patience, to let go of the overwhelming perfectionism and allow mistakes to happen in order to learn.

The last verse calls for the gifted to let go of society's opinion and the members of society who subject the gifted to immense pressure to reconsider and allow the gifted to learn. Not every skill has to be monetised, not every gift has to be useful. Let go of the stigma of shaming people of gifts for their mistakes and allow them to learn from them. Instead of tearing each other down, we can lift each other up with comments of encouragement, not words of destructive criticism.

Why is this a sealed letter?
Because society doesn't listen to the cries of help of those who suffer from its unjust discrimination, so in return, keeps the letter sealed and discards it.

And I could only hope that with the awareness of the toxicity that's filling up society, we take action and stick together.

Thank you.