Member-only story
Garden of Pansies
A Poem of Restitution // Bullying
Deep in the flowerbed
Lies a beetle with a big fat head
She crawls and crawls
Along the dark damp walls
She is unaccepted by others
Why is she shamed, she wonders
Other beetles kept to themselves
So she shut out that life and traveled far
And searched everywhere
She met many creatures
All with different features
Spiders, crickets, and centipedes
All of different races and creeds
She learned that there are others
Born to fumble and stutter
It’s not by choice
And that didn’t mute their voice
They continue to live
Lives only few will give
The dirt around her
Is suddenly easier to bear
Her reflection from the pond
Easily won
Her self acceptance
No more repentance
No beetle cared where she goes, what she does
But she doesn’t mind, because
She has found the field of many
The Garden of Pansies
© J.J. Tung
Author’s Note:
To all those who are called vicious names and who feel ashamed, don’t bear the ridicule. Leave that life behind. Find a better tribe. They’re out there finding you.
