Read

"To Be More"

Published:
November 28, 2023
November 16, 2017
Grotto graphic for poetry about pushing the limits over an image of a bonfire.|Grotto graphic for pushing the limits poem that reads "Grotto Poetry" over an image of a bonfire.|Grotto graphic for poetry about pushing the limits that reads "Student Poetry" over an image of a bonfire.

Brave.

To be brave I'd climb outside the skin I've always known, knock on the bars of my bones and hitch a ride with the moonbeams that hide and skirt and foxtrot between the leaves of the trees. I'd take a bottle, ¼ Lysol ¼ firmly planted feet, and ½ the love of family members. Then I'd spray it along the chunk of my brain that looks like an abandoned amusement park and fears being lonely and useless.

Kind.

To be kind I'd fashion rainbows around bullets with a tiny pocket sewn to the metal holding prayers and hope and tolerance in its cavities and I'd send them as flares to the man who's tripped one too many times on the labels We gave him at birth. They wouldn't penetrate like normal bullets, no they'd open up and reach out an understanding hand and together we make a solution work.

To be kind I'd replace the razor blades in that girl’s heart, that girl we all know, with a toolbox. Then together we'd build a bonfire ready to burn the words Her skirt was too short alongside the words Boys will be Boys.

To be just I'd hand her rapist a full sentence in jail.

Force.

To be a force I'd take the brightest lightning bolt and paint it along the chambers of my mouth. Then I'd drape a calming wave across my lips like a watchman on duty, only letting the lightning bolt discharge when its force can be matched by conviction and integrity. Then I'd take that lightning bolt and that wave and I'd tattoo them to the words of my poetry.

Free.

To be free I'd pause in the intersection between the tallest mountain and the lowest cloud. I'd bellow like a banshee with a blow horn finally unafraid to admit I am child of God. Then I'd take an old tire swing and rock—back and forth. At one moment above the mountain, at another above only sky.

Honest.

To be honest I'd pierce the first lie I ever told and its consequence to the tip of my nose, surveying it each morning to prevent any population growth or territorial expansions.

Compassionate.

To be compassionate I'd set up a booth on the busiest street corner of the busiest city handing out compliments in canning jars so they can be eaten on any day, apologies with sewing kits, second chances with a map of everything great that's just around the corner, and free lemonade.

More.

To be more I'd jackhammer the bottom of every heart to make holes where we can sew a telephone line between all the world's people and Heaven.

Creators:
Stephanie Konrady
Published:
November 28, 2023
November 16, 2017
On a related note...
How Venerable Matt Talbot Turned His Life Around

How Venerable Matt Talbot Turned His Life Around

Molly Gettinger

Nonprofit Combats Racial Disparity in the Bail System

Nonprofit Combats Racial Disparity in the Bail System

Grotto

I Got My Dream Job with NY Fashion Week, Then Quit

I Got My Dream Job with NY Fashion Week, Then Quit

Olivia T. Taylor

Learning to Listen to Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail

Learning to Listen to Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail

Haleigh Ehmsen

Meet the Man Fighting the System with Stubborn Hope: Wendell Berry

Meet the Man Fighting the System with Stubborn Hope: Wendell Berry

Patrick Tomassi

"Thunderstorm with Mountains"

"Thunderstorm with Mountains"

Marjorie Maddox

"Blessing at Rinkers Creek"

"Blessing at Rinkers Creek"

Marty Moran

3 Easy Steps to Make Praying Out Loud Less Awkward

3 Easy Steps to Make Praying Out Loud Less Awkward

Lisa Greey Lytwyn

Prayers from Your Childhood To Get You Through Your Day

Prayers from Your Childhood To Get You Through Your Day

Grotto

Lost Motivation to Hit the Gym? Here’s How to Get Back

Lost Motivation to Hit the Gym? Here’s How to Get Back

Makaela Douglas

Not Now: A Grotto Short Film

Not Now: A Grotto Short Film

Grotto

3 Things ‘The Office’ Taught Me About Love

3 Things ‘The Office’ Taught Me About Love

Maureen O’Brien

How a Week of Prioritizing Kindness Changed Me

How a Week of Prioritizing Kindness Changed Me

Marye Colleen Larme

"Morning, My Privilege”

"Morning, My Privilege”

Judith Sornberger

"Lost One"

"Lost One"

Lesley Clinton

Inspired by the Olympics? Here's How to Challenge Yourself

Inspired by the Olympics? Here's How to Challenge Yourself

Ben Wilson

Finding Home

Finding Home

Grotto

He Uses His Iconography To Meet Others

He Uses His Iconography To Meet Others

Grace Carroll

Add These Books to Your Morning for an Inspiring Start

Add These Books to Your Morning for an Inspiring Start

Maureen O’Brien

This Time-Lapse Thunderstorm Video Will Leave You Shook

This Time-Lapse Thunderstorm Video Will Leave You Shook

Grotto Shares

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.