Listen - a poem

This poem was submitted by Michael Skirving.

It is un-attributed but it is understood to have been written during the 30 year period that the author was held in a mental institution.

It speaks volumes about the need for us to change the way in which we treat our fellow human beings

When I ask you to listen to me, and you start giving me advice,
You have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me â??whyâ?? I shouldnâ??t feel that way,
You are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problems,
You have failed me, strange as that may seem.

Listen! All I ask is that you listen; not talk, nor do â?? just hear me.

And I can do for myself â?? Iâ??m not helpless.
Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless.

When you do something for me, that I can and need to do for myself,
You contribute to my fear and weakness.

But when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, No matter how irrational
then I quit trying to convince you and can get about the business of understanding whatâ??s behind this irrational feeling.

When thatâ??s clear, the answers are obvious and I donâ??t need advice.
Irrational feelings make sense when we understand whatâ??s behind them.

Perhaps thatâ??s why prayer works sometimes for some people;
Because God is mute and does not give advice to try to â??fixâ?? things, He/She just listens, and lets you work it out for yourself.

So please listen, and just hear me, and if you want to talk,
wait a minute for your turn, and Iâ??ll listen to you.