I wrote the following poem after I heard Nickelback's latest song. I have always been a fan of Nickelback but this one struck me in a different way. Some might consider this song to be cliche and so cannot be of deeper substance but the simplicity of it makes it more meaningful for me. I think everyone at some point in their lives has a dream about peace, unity and love. The worst thing we want to see is violence against each other. The last thing we want to feel is the loss of someone we love dearly. Nickelback's song expresses a lot of the pain life inflicts upon every one of us, some more than others.

Though, at the same time that I wish the world would treat everyone equally and save those hurting, I understand that pain is what creates courage and strength. I have always wished for perfection of life and protection of innocent children but it's logical that certain things cannot be avoided no matter how we hide. I wrote this poem not for political motives but to express my sympathy, anger and sadness toward what's happening right now for the soldiers who risk their lives for their countries and the civilians who are helpless and innocent.

Trust

by Jamie Lin

(first published at Static Movement Online)

under the oaths of a country,
in the name of God and family,
freedom and love, duty and pride,
blind trust in media and government,
against what we believe in,
to fight or to defend,
under the idea of democracy,
figures in the shadows with signs,
hoarse voices, desperate cries,
to be heard, to be ignored,
to be regretted, so many lives,
to love is to die,
an innocent life,
a million others, a million more,
the cost of our youth,
the manipulation of their willing sacrifice,
in the name of everything holy and honourable,
under the idea of protecting the world,
ourselves, themselves, selfish
ambition, tactics never planned,
a world full of intelligence and talent,
lessons learned, noses in textbooks of
years and conflicts past, nothing ever learned,
nothing ever applied, with the unwritten, underlying
emotions of fear and paranoia,
anger, revenge, hatred, heartbreak,
you'd think someone could step up
to the responsibility and take the blame,
listen and share, dying under the cause,
the worst possible way is a worthless walk
into the red light, if we pride ourselves
in our ideas, in our modernization,
in our humanity, in our morals,
in our democracy,
our freedom,
our love,
our each God and faith intertwined,
breaking mothers' hearts,
fighting against a never ending
emotion, another's idea of Utopia,
a never ending sin, our crimes,
our fear, our hatred, our anger
of everyone else including ourselves

Jamie Lin grew up in a colorful gray place people refer to as Brooklyn. Most of her work are not from her own experiences but a dramatic stretch of an emotion she felt or witnessed. She writes best before dawn or after midnight. She's heading for college to take a heavy load of classes but she much rather read online ezines all day in pyjamas. It's too bad that she has to do something other than creative writing to support her needs which includes going out to eat, seeing chick flicks and buying black tops. She has an ezine called alightedezine.com. Her website is at jamielin.net. She's currently working on more short pieces and a novella titled ‘Just Do It’. To read a selection of her poems on the showcase section of this site, click here.

© 2007 Laura Hird All rights reserved.