Loving The Unlovely
Please don’t mock others, or laugh at them, nor treat them indifferently,
Simply 'cause you think that they’re odd, weak, silly or even ugly.
No, please don't ever treat unkindly any human on this Earth,
Remembering that they’re someone’s child too, had no say in their birth.
Yes, love and help the difficult, the misfits and the unlovely,
'Cause they need your love too, even more so, unconditionally.
Yes, we all love the loveable, 'cause that’s easy, natural too,
But loving the unlovely is by far the greater thing to do.
It’s so easy to love our own, 'cause they’re our loved ones, after all,
But for most people, loving the unlovely is the hardest call.
And yet, such love is pure love — and in each of us, that love should be,
'Cause such doesn’t seek to get, but seeks to give, given it’s self free.
Every one of us is different, the product of many things,
Hence why out of everyone's life both good and bad flows or springs.
So take time to get to know people, accept them the way they are,
'Cause tolerance and understanding have always gone really far.
Yes, it’s hard enough for so many that they feel the way they do,
Or that they’re struggling with their quirks, anxieties, obsessions too.
They needing a helping hand, not those whispers, those looks or comments,
Nor that thoughtless indifference that to some is far more intense.
Many who're not so well endowed come their looks, physique, or IQ,
Are made to feel inferior by cruel things others say and do.
Yes, you might say that people choose to feel that way or not, but
Is anything quite that easy? And sometimes, things can really cut.
So love and help the difficult, the misfits and the unlovely,
'Cause they need your love too, even more so, unconditionally.
Yes, never just love your loved ones, or those that you’re attracted to,
But show love and care to all, 'cause that is the better thing to do.
By Lance Landall
This poem was upgraded 13 August 2021.
Skin Deep
Let’s halt this foolish preoccupation with the body,
This hang up over image, this obsession with beauty.
Rather, let’s seek out the less well endowed, change direction,
And focus on inner beauty, not outward perfection.
Who can measure up but the fortunate, or are they so?
For many fall victim to their own beauty, downhill go.
Others succumb to adverts, pressure, are easily led,
Letting others pull their strings and play around with their head.
Beauty’s often a handicap, a cause of wrongful pride,
A fleeting, skin deep experience best not glorified.
And in time — those so fixated — will feel it more keenly
When age attacks the body, and sometimes very meanly.
As well, misfortune can occur, marring beauty also,
Which many hooked on the body have sadly come to know.
Hence why it doesn’t pay to focus on outward beauty,
But rather, on inward beauty; beauty carried humbly.
“Pride goeth before a fall,” it’s said, and it certainly can,
For it’s often been the downfall of a woman or man.
It’s better to just be ourselves, warts and all, so to speak,
And not join the seduced, who some glamorous image seek.
Yes, let’s seek out the less well endowed who’ve visible flaws,
The everyday person relegated to the back stalls.
Let’s put them on a pedestal, if we must, not the airbrushed,
Whose unrealness cruelly taunts, and sees many spirits crushed.
It’s one thing to notice beauty, but hey, let’s leave it there,
And let character, not looks or fashion, our daily path steer.
It’s what’s inside that matters, not how we look, nor how we dress,
So, let’s ease off the body, let’s stop trying to impress.
By Lance Landall
You might also like to read my poem "Beauty Beware".