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The Great Salt Lake

A Poem

By Mickey LarsenPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Picture provided by shutterstock.com 

Family is supposed to be our safe haven, but very often it's the place where we find the deepest heartache

When you grow up near the Great Salt Lake, family values are nearly impossible to forsake

Many nights you lay awake

And take what's at stake

And many find it impossible to shake

The salt from the great Salt Lake

People have to pretend you're a bad person so they don't feel guilty about the things they did to you.

God forbid they be accountable for the hell they put you through.

So if you refuse

To be subdued

The only way to break the free

Or break through is to bid adieu

And be the freak who dared to say I'm through

But Freedom isn't free; it's one costly price

How is it one you can afford to pay when you can't even pay for a flotation device?

Not once

But twice you've opened up your heart and tried to be nice

To those who seemed to give sound advice and

Not once

But twice, you've been rejected from what appears to be paradise.

Instead, you've been thrown to this icy salt lake as a sacrifice.

And when the waves hit you so much harder than you ever thought they would

And every night you go to bed feeling misunderstood

Given the chance you know that you could do you some good

But in a sexist environment your womanhood

Is denied by the brotherhood

Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today

To judge those who have been led astray instead of leading the way

Every Sunday

We portray a perfect family; we treat these Isles like a runway

We fly high above the salty waves, hovering like birds of prey

Ready to swoop down upon those who dare disobey

Or try to break away

But you don't drown by falling in the water; you drown from staying there

And as hard as goodbye seems, you know you'll feel better once you breathe fresh air

And you no longer have to despair

Or beware of the birds circling in the air.

It's about time you take care of your self

Because self-love is much too rare.

These salty waves are the things that will no longer wear and tear

At your soul. Instead, you've learned that the waves are the things that carried you there

To the place where there

Is no spiritual warfare

Where you're safe from all your nightmares

And yes life isn't fair

But this is just one of the many lessons you learn while you're living here.

This great Salt Lake is only a great as you let it be

And you're only as small as these waves will make you seem.

You're only as strong as your heart will let you be.

I know it seems impossible when you're swimming upstream.

The waves seem extreme,

Especially when no one is on your team,

This tidal stream

Tries to butcher every and all of your dreams.

The last thing the birds want is for you to be free.

You never need to apologize for the way you choose to survive.

The birds will be surprised

When you do so much more than just get by.

They realize

No matter the damage they inflict on you, you will continue to thrive.

Instead of drowning in the salty waves, you finally feel alive

And with your mind on overdrive,

You've finally found the strength to say goodbye.

In the waves of change, we find our direction.

We learn to swim away from those who offer nothing but hate and rejection.

Yes, under the eyes of the birds you are under inspection

But none of that matters when we swim towards those who offer true love and affection.

You learn that imperfection

Is perfection to a beautiful perspective and as you swim and surf through the salt and the waves you learn to swim in the right direction.

The birds no longer matter and these salty waves no longer hold you down

And you've finally found the strength to leave this god forsaken town

And as hard as these waves tried to knock and wear you down

These waves that were once a battle ground are now a reminder that you refused to back down .

nature poetry
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About the Creator

Mickey Larsen

Just a cupcake in love with a stud muffin

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