To Be Heard and Understood

Listen to me,
You may say you’ve already heard
What I’m going to say
But you have not heard it from me,
And you don’t know my story.

Even if you say you already know,
You have not lived my life as me,
The most you can do is to listen,
For in listening, you may become part of my story
And becoming part of it,
You may finally start to understand.

If I Didn’t Listen

Forgive me if I didn’t listen well,
If I didn’t hear you when you spoke.
Forgive me if I blocked and hindered
The thoughts you wanted to share.

I was more occupied with my thoughts
Than with your thoughts,
I was more concerned with my feelings
Than I was with yours.

I was not able to hear
What you truly wanted to say.
I was not able to know you better,
I wasn’t able to value who you are.

Forgive me for I should have shown more compassion,
I should have respected you.
I should have opened up my heart,
So you could have opened yours.

Forgive me for I have made you feel more alone,
I have not listened to your fears or to your pain.
I was so absorbed in my own defenses,
In my own hurts and fears.

Forgive me for I have not listened well,
I should have known we’re not so different after all.
If I had only listened,
I may not have felt so alone.

He who gives answer before he hears, that is folly and shame to him. – Proverbs 18:13, WEB

We scream because we feel we’re not being heard. – Jocelyn Soriano

Check Jocelyn's books:

"Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief", "Mend My Broken Heart", "Questions to God", "To Love an Invisible God", "Defending My Catholic Faith", and more - click here.

(You may freely quote excerpts from this website as long as due credit is given to author Jocelyn Soriano and the website itakeoffthemask.com)