poem ~ just forgive you

When you go to a blame game mode
and are finger pointing to,
You've lost the connection
to what's hurting inside of you.

Sometimes it's very hard to see
what brought this about to be,
But if we stop to think we'll discover 
there's more peace when I just look at me.

When I connect to what I'm feeling
it allows me to feel beyond the bleed,
And not stay in desperation
making you the reason for my need.

For I can't control what you do
or ultimately how you treat me too,
But I can guarantee that I've got my part
if I stop and search with all my heart.

Instead of asking why you did 
the very things you did to me,
I'd get more ahead if I'd just live
extending grace and let you be who you be.

To be defensive and shut you out
causes more pain then what life's about,
It's better to forgive it's true
then hold onto all the pain inside of you.

But to get to this point
requires me to look beyond the facts,
And focus on what I'm feeling
to create a vision that will match. 

To get outside of the grip
of everything you ever said or did,
Means I've got to communicate
and not keep it all bottled up under a lid.

To resolve the pain in my head
requires I let go of the story I know, 
And share with all my heart
so connection can restart. 

I must take responsibility too
for the choice is mine in the blame game view,
To prevent this hurt to wreck havoc more
and destroy our friendship to the core.

All I can ask is that you listen to
everything I say to you,
As I give away a part of my heart
in hopes of healing the broken parts.

No matter what you choose to do
I can't hold back because of you,
I must love you even more
for this is what Friends just do.

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #JustForgiveYou #CreateTheLifeYouWant #LiveIntentionally

poem ~ the apology

You avoid them
because you don't know what else to do,
When if you'd think about it
you could apologize for treating them so rude.

We all make mistakes
and do things we regret,
But the choice to repair the relationship 
is better than carrying the weight of it on your chest.

Relationships really aren't that complicated 
because we all know deep down what to do,
When we openly show our love
it's really simple what forgiveness contributes to.

Putting up these walls
to keep everyone away,
Doesn't solve a thing
as you go about your day.

You're only building more layers
of hurt upon your heart,
Which is going to make things more difficult 
to get the key to reach inside that part.

The choice to dissolve the issue
is only one you can choose,
Because nobody can make you
live a life of unresolved apologies, but you.

I promise that the tension between
you and your friend that's suffering,
Won't diminish the hurt you bring
in the silent treatment that you fling.

A simple statement that you can make
that says I'm sorry I hurt you,
I didn't mean to be this way
please forgive me for how I affected your view.

It really doesn't take that much
to restore and make it new, 
But you have to care for something more
than what's going on inside of you.

Yet it seems we often go
long periods in painful silence, 
Wishing we could escape 
the results from the words we hastily said.

Oh how we let it eat
away at us like grief,
When if we'd let it go
there would be connection of our souls.

Life doesn't have to be
this fragile or painful to enjoy, 
There's always a way to show we care
if the determination is right there.

It's up to you today
to show which path you'll take,
For some things never go away
unless the high road you generate. 

So as you step back and think about
your friends and loved ones dear,
It's in your hands what you do
to restore relationships that matter to you.

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #TheApology #RelationshipsMatter #ThePowerOfChoice

poem ~ all in the game

You've asked me to share my story
and what my life is about, 
Because you've given me so much 
I've got a passion that oozes out.

I committed to my coach
to be all in the game,
And not just a little
for that's not playing the same.

I wrote in my journal
that I'd settle for more,
Than those out to take me down
trying to kill my life at the core.

I affirmed that I'd be
completely just me,
Not living in fear 
of everyone around me.

I knew that that meant 
The Sassy Voice would progress, 
Down a narrow road of attention 
to complete intentional living.

I wrote out the message
of what you're asking of me,
And promised to follow through 
standing in the vision I see.

When I made this promise 
I has no idea what it meant,
Or that I'd be tested 
against the worst battle yet.

Attacked on all sides
by many that I love,
It left me discouraged
and questioning the path from above.

I've been presented with many 
options to just run,
To live hidden away
keeping the objective of none.

I had to seek if I'd stay true
to the values I hold to,
Or would I succumb
to the pressure and come undone?

In asking these questions
I was met with a choice, 
To be renewed in my commitment
or seek a lesser voice.

Being boldly assertive
even when all is at stake,
Means change must be made
for the accountability is great.

To live from my heart
in limitless courage,
And forge ahead on
in a life full of purpose. 

I won't do it perfect
no matter my heart,
But I promise to live
with this perspective as the mark.

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #TheLifeOfMisty #AllInTheGame #CreateTheLifeYouWant #LiveIntentionally #ThePowerOfChoice

poem ~ dear mother

Dear Mother, I can honestly say,
you weren't the one
Every little girl dreams of 
having as her role model today.

I grew up feeling 
you completely despised me,
Because nothing I did 
was ever good enough in the end. 

Even when I had straight A's in school
you wanted something even more,
Because A+ was exactly what
you were ultimately striving for.

As you laid out the rules
and instructions for perfection,
I failed all the time
is my constant recollection. 

You never encouraged me
but I kept trying from my very core,
To do all the things
you expected and more.

I wanted you to be happy 
but I failed to see,
That happiness was missing
because of something beyond me.

You tried to physically cripple me
and make me an invalid, 
Not letting me live outside
even for a minute with Friends.

Everything I ever wanted to do
was met with a resounding no,
That's absolutely too expensive 
and you should have never asked tho.

It forced me to see
how I could create things for free,
As I struggled to live
up to your expectations to be me.

When I felt I finally had figured you out
you'd go and change the rules,
And I'd be left again 
seeking how to play this game in the end.

Yet the way that you treated me
destroying every single part of my heart,
It caused me to not feel wanted
when you tore every baby picture apart.

When you emphatically told me
I was no longer your beautiful daughter,
I wondered how much more I could take
then you called me Ethel, stating it wasn't a mistake.

It's sometimes hard to believe
how one could treat one of their own like this,
But even in spite of these circumstances
I tried to honor and respect you as my Mother.

Yet when I reflect 
on the amazing things you taught me,
I wonder what my life would be like
without all the homemaking skills around me.

You taught me so many things 
from how to sew, cook, clean and do laundry,
to how to make everything else 
completely by hand, substantially.

You made me save 
fifty percent of my earnings,
For the future day
when some man took me away.

You taught me the art
of what communication means,
Even when you didn't do this
in a loving resourceful theme.

You made philanthropy 
a big part of my heart,
And it helped me live through 
one of my darkest chapter parts.

You taught me how
to live on much less,
And to remove expectations
of consumer driven mess.

You instilled in me 
the ability to work really hard,
To be fully committed 
with excellence in all that I do.

You stressed the importance
of being honest, dedicated and loyal, 
Responsible and disciplined 
even in my schedule and tasks too.

As I've done the work 
on my own healing journey,
I know you didn't have
anything else you could give.

For your heart is bleeding
and deeply hurting to the core,
And instead of doing the necessary healing
you inflicted pain on me even more.

I know you didn't have 
any more to give,
Because you didn't believe in yourself
or have any love to live.

You tore everyone down 
that lived all around you,
Because of the hurt 
that you found surrounding you.

The skills you gave me
to see through the challenges you presented me,
Caused me to shift my perspective
and made me stronger than what you did to me.

No matter how abusive,
controlling and manipulative you are,
The circumstances of my life
gave me the chance to overcome and get this far.

Though I honestly can't say
I'd wish this kind of childhood life,
On anyone once 
let alone my two siblings lives.

It's with a different perspective 
I open up and say,
Thank You for the gift in the fight 
to make something of my life.

For in the midst of this mess
it's quite clear to me yet,
That all of this is 
the biggest blessing you could've given me.

So it's in gratitude I say
Thank You on this Mother's Day,
For the things you unknowingly gave me
and the way my life has thus shaped to be.

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #TheLifeOfMisty #CreateTheLifeYouWant #LiveIntentionally #PainIsAGift #ThePowerOfChoice #DearMother

poem ~ friends

I sent you a text
to say I love and miss you,
You don't ever respond 
and I wonder yet again
what I've done to offend you.

It seems to me
Friendship isn't what it used to be,
Where people
took you at your word
and honestly completely understood.

I try so hard
to be your Friend,
But it's almost like
you'ld rather the friendship
would just fully end.

I can't figure it out 
sometimes what it's all about,
The benefits of friendship
when it seems it's not
a round trip event. 

Why does it hurt 
so freaking much
to try and show you care,
When you treat my efforts
like they don't belong in the air?

I wish I understood 
how to be a better friend,
For its my desire
to love beyond
your rejection yet again.

Lord, 
please help me to see,
Those that want to be encouraged 
and return 
a Friendship with me.

Give me wisdom 
to navigate the critics,
Help me to remove 
those fixed on being enemies
and the fake Friends I keep trying to please.

Show me how
to live each day,
Reaching out to my Friends
with even yet more love
because kindness is the key. 

Don't let me stay stuck
in the Friendships that aren't there,
But give me the courage 
to always be ready
for the ones that want to be repaired.

Let me look
deep inside my heart
and build a Friendship 
that's vulnerable and authentic 
and strong as a rock within it.


© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #Friendship #CircleOfFriends #BeThePersonThePersonYoureLookingForIsLookingFor

poem ~ harbor

We harbor
the past in our heart,
Like it is better
then the present start.

We harbor
the hurts that've been done to us,
Like it's better
then openly choosing full forgiveness.

We harbor
every record of wrong,
Like it's gonna help us
write the lyrics to a song.

We harbor
all the memories of painful things,
Like there is a benefit
to continually remembering these vivid dreams.

We harbor
every secret thing we've ever wanted,
Like they're better then
the things we been blessed with in the moment.

We harbor
holding onto regret,
Like it brings more for us
then hitting the fresh reset.

We harbor
feelings so deep,
Like we're afraid of what happens
when vulnerability we keep.

We harbor
a desire for love,
Like to find it
would be more scary than embracing it.

We harbor
the option and choice,
Like to live in fear, shame, guilt, and regret
is better than the abundant life course.

We harbor
things in our hearts,
Like we don't have the control over it
in every part.

We harbor
the power it seems,
Like to make the choice
to do incredible things.

We harbor
the gift of life in so many ways,
Like we get the chance
each and every day.

We harbor
so many deep things,
Like I wonder what it would take
for us to really live the life of our dreams?

© Misty W Gilbert

Photo By: @mistywgilbert taken in San Luis Obispo, California April 2017

#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #Harbor #ADifferentPerspective #ThePowerOfChoice #CreateTheLifeYouWant #LiveIntentionally

poem ~ Mothers Day

I want you to know
just because there is a Holiday
called Mother's Day,
It doesn't change some things
for some of you.

I know
because it doesn't 
for me either,
Even though
you always think about it yearly too.

It would be good if you'd understand
and not make assumptions,
That not everyone 
has one in their life 
like you do.

Not every person 
whose become a mother 
wants to be one,
Or loves their child
like you do.

Some of us have a mother 
who told us we were
never welcome back home,
And who doesn't
care what we do.

She doesn't want to see us,
isn't proud of us,
And does not want 
to be with me 
like you do.

The words I love you,
I honestly do,
aren't apart 
of her vocabulary 
like it is for you.

I don't say this
to make you feel guilty
or to even feel sorry for me too,
No I tell you so
that you understand the truth.

Some of us 
have had to make make a life
of doing it alone,
Because of the abuse and lack
of a Mother's heart in our home.

We've decided to see 
this loss in our life,
As a chance to help 
heal someone else's
broken heart.

Because when you've been there
you can honestly say,
You know what it's like
to be rejected 
by the very person who made you.

Let me remind you,
if you have 
a sweet Mom in your life,
Don't abuse her or take her for granted
because you've got something really special.

Please don't just wait for Mother's Day 
to see her or tell her 
what you think of her,
Make sure you acknowledge her
and her incredible love for you!

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #MothersDay #Mother #RealLifeExamples #ADifferentPerspective #LoveOnPurpose

poem ~ the way of love

You tell me
I don't know how you do it,
But I'll tell you
I do.

For you see 
what you make so very complicated,
Actually 
is very simple to do.

But to see it 
from my perspective,
Requires you to quit thinking 
like you always do.

To have 
what you want in life,
Means you must start 
always with love.

You can't just love
when life is going well,
You have to love
when you're being drug through hell.

For love must be patient 
when you want it done now,
Or even when you've told them 
a million times how.

For love will choose to be
always kind,
No matter how ugly 
you treat me this time.

I must take the slap that you give me
hard on the cheek,
Because when I connect to love
this will never make me weak.

I can't ever be envious 
about what you have,
When we've all been given
the same pattern to grab.

There's no reason to boast 
about it at all,
For there’s no arrogance in love
you just answer it's call.

To love from the core
means you'll never be rude,
You've got to choose
to be genuinely true.

To care about others
in their pain and their hurt,
And not be self-absorbed
as if that's gonna work.

To be filled with love
means I won't easily be upset,
Because I know the value 
of living from the heart is best.

To operate from love
means I can't stop and tally up,
All the wrongs that you've done
as if this is the way the battles won.

No love means 
I'll not find it in the book,
Because it's been erased 
and there's absolutely no record ever took.

Love will always celebrate 
the best of all things,
Because honoring injustice
has no blessings to bring.

When you want to have love
you seek for the truth,
Because in this search
love is never far from you.

Love can never be hid
or become obsolete instead,
For love is the door
to every answer you're looking for. 

Love will never 
put up a fight,
For it suffers long
every day and every night.

It handles anything and everything
that remotely comes along,
Because it trusts, hopes, and endures 
every day like a song.

To live from the heart of love
means I reason with choice,
And that I must not live 
in my childish voice.

So no matter what you say
I'm gonna tell you today,
That it's truly a choice
to make love be your strongest voice.

It's truly not hard
or even complicated too,
Because you can live 
in faith, hope and love anew.

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #TheWayOfLove #HeartOfLove #HeartPioneers #LoveOnPurpose #ChooseLove

poem ~ you have no idea

I am reminded
yet again
that we have no idea
what most people are facing
day in day
and day out
as they walk these trials out.

Some days it feels like
everyone is full of secrets
with something
they are needing to say
that's been hidden or tucked away
almost forgotten
but screaming out for attention the most.

I wonder
and have thought
what would it be like
if we let everyone talk
about what is going on in their life
like
totally a lot.

What would change
if
instead of having
preconceived ideas
we spent more of our time
trying to see what they see
and feel how they feel?

If we stopped and considered
how they do it all
sometimes barely standing
other times trying to hold it together
by a thread
trying to decide what to do
or simply how to just get through.

Does anyone ever notice
those that are dying inside
all because
someone snapped at them
or glared their eyes
maybe was just plain mean
and all they need is you for a Friend.

And I wondered
how many times
I have mistaken
someone’s suffering
for an aloof attitude
and for being unfriendly
when they're just trying to see clearly.

We do not know
the secret sorrows
of those around us
or why someone
is in a funk
but what if we just loved them
thru their junk?

So perhaps
we could all
practice a little
or maybe a lot more
compassion
as they process through
something that's hard to do.

What if we just had
a bit more perspective
that maybe they just don't
know what to do
and could we possibly give
a bit more patience
understanding and curiosity there?

Maybe I just have no clue
so it would be best
to not make up a story
remember our shared humanity
and put on some humility
and simply be
the person I would need for me.

Above all
it's best
to just remember
that love is what matters
most to me
to you
does to everyone else too.


© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #YouHaveNoIdea #ShareInEachOthersLives #LoveOnPurpose #ChooseLove

poem ~ you choose

You say you want to be loved
but what are you doing to attract it?

You say you want to feel special 
but what are you doing to make life special for others?

You say you want to have peace 
but what are you doing to create peace?

You say you want to enjoy your life
but what are you doing to create happiness in the current state of your life?

You say you want to live in freedom 
but what are you doing to release your chains?

You say you want to have financial ease
but what are you doing to bring that about?

You say you want to be positive 
but what are you doing to create a positive atmosphere? 

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #CreateTheLifeYouWant #LiveIntentionally #YourLifeMatters #YouChoose #YouGetWhatYouFocusOn

poem ~ Gods Plan

People often say
“God is in control”,
Yet this is just a way
that we soothe our souls.

To make sense of the randomness 
of the events in our life
when everything is hurtful,
cruel and full of strife.

We like to think
that God has a hard core plan,
and is continuously weaving 
it all together in action-packed land.

But if that were the case
why does He give it to you,
an option to choose
what kind of life you wanna live through?

But perhaps you should
consider it this way,
life is never random
exactly like as you say.

For life's not dictated
by boxes and rules,
No, it's made in each moment
by the choices you choose.

Maybe it's not happening to you
but to get you to choose,
Because God doesn't make you
live this life as an option to lose.

It's happening for you
to get you to see,
That you get to create
and live intentionally.

God is “in control"
not because he is pulling
a background of strings
in an attempt to make everything work.

No, God is “in control” 
because He is our capacity,
To make beauty from ashes
and work all things out for our good.

That doesn't mean
everything feels real good,
Some things in life
require sadness to be understood.

Yes, I know, there is sadness
all over the world,
but you truly can discover
a joy that much deeper than the surface.

For sadness does not diminish
any bit of the joy,
And joy does not protect you
from the sadness it employs.

You wish it could only be 
that only joy and happiness you'd see,
But then you sit back and discover
that the sadness was a gift undercover.

So take a moment
to think on this today,
For this life that you live 
is being constructed by what you give.

Yes, God is "in control"
but not like it seems,
For the choice is yours
how you live this life that you dream.



© Misty W Gilbert
[inspired from a blog post by Jim Palmer, Author]
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #GodsPlan #ThePowerOfChoice #LifeIsBeautiful #LifeIsAGift #ADifferentPerspective

poem ~ it's hard to watch you

It's hard to watch you
make this choice,
When I know you want more
in quality and a pure soul.

It's hard to watch you
try to figure this out,
When if you'd stop and think
you know what it's all about.

It's hard to watch you
as you wring your hands in two,
Acting like
you don't know what to do.

It's hard to watch you
hide behind the pain in your eyes,
It's just a matter of time
before you'll expose all the lies.

It's hard to watch you
create such a mess,
When you could have more
instead of this selfishness.

It's hard to watch you
settle for less,
Then what God's designed
as the absolute best.

It's hard to watch you
when I know what you want,
But you turned up your nose
to what integrity grows.

It's hard to watch you
say what you want,
And do the exact opposite
simply because you're tired of the hunt.

It's hard to watch
you destroy your life,
When with a simple adjustment
you'd land you a wife.

It's hard to watch you
make a life you'll regret,
When the promise of love
isn't the ultimate compromise.

It's hard to watch you
say you know you need God,
Yet when given the opportunity is given
you run from His love.

It's hard to watch you
live like this Friend,
I promise you there's more
of a better life not just in the end.

It's hard to watch you
as you attempt to live this life,
I know the difference
between honest and having to pay the price.

It's hard to watch you
but I tell you it's true,
Please stop and listen
you've got to choose truth.

It's hard to watch you
treat me so,
When all I've wanted
is the best for you bro.

© Misty W Gilbert

Photo By: @mistywgilbert taken in San Luis Obispo, California in April 2017

#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #ItsHardToWatchYou #SettleForMore

poem ~ just be

Take a deep breath
and breath in n out,
Just relax a little more, 
give yourself a break
and trust your very core.

You're not meant to be perfect,
no, you won't always get things right,
You're a human being
and perfection 
isn't what you were created to be.

You don't have to spend so much time
trying so very hard, 
Maybe even stressing yourself out
or beyond that
flat out burning yourself out.

Even on the days
when the pressure is sky high,
When the expectations soar even higher
you can choose to be kind
and gentle to yourself. 

Yes, trust me...
just sit with your feelings,
And let it all be
for nobody wants you to be
anybody else but you.

You're perfect with your inevitable flaws,
more beautiful in your vulnerabilities too,
Your imperfections make you gorgeous
because you're just like me
your completely one hundred percent human.

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #BeYOU #JustBe #BeautifulYou

poem ~ the life of printer ink

When your printer 
runs out of ink
and you can't finish
your project
it makes you forget
what you're even
supposed to think.

Oh the fun games 
we play
with ink these days
as we try to do our work
and get projects done
we have to stop 
and hunt for some.

At $75 a pop
not for just one 
but four 
because you need
magenta, cyan, yellow, and black
I spent $400
just like that.

So much for 
getting a bunch of 
work done
I get to put this project
on the back burner
and leave it sit 
yet again hon.

Nobody remembers
if there is an extra on the shelf
or if they ordered 
two of them last time
no matter how you try 
to always have a stash
you will run out of it.

Why are we so dependent 
on something like ink
that really is useless
because in just a few days
you will file it away
and forget you ever had it
or scan it and shred the original.

Everyone says 
we should be
completely digital
yet I have to sign here 
on the dotted line please
with my ink pen
because its required to be.

I think someone needs 
to come up with a better solution
to help us entrepreneurs
who live in a digital
and paper world
to be productive
and yet achieve work with ink.


© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #TheLifeOfPrinterInk #Entrepreneurship #RealLifeExamples