Love is universal

As mentioned in my previous post, this one is a guest post written by “B” – sharing her opinion on an important topic… Read on for more:

Okay, some people may not want to read this but this is a very important topic to me. Gay rights. For those religious people who say that it’s a sin, God’s Word or not, He says Love is the best feeling one could experience. How can laying with another human being of the same gender be bad if you love them? I find it ironic because gay also means ‘happy’.

What happens if you’re gay being gay? Men and women should both be allowed to love whomever they please. Love is love. How could someone deserve Hell if they have feelings for someone? It’s not a choice. You’re born gay, you’re born bisexual, or you’re born straight. In fact, I don’t like using the word straight: it’s making it sound like it’s the straight path, or it’s the original, right path. I know gay people. They are amazing, wonderful people. No different from anyone else. It’s nice to see so many people supportive of gay people nowadays. Look at celebrities like Lady Gaga and TV shows like Glee.

Also, for all of you people out there who think that gay is not okay and decide to express their resentment, I want you to think about this: More than 34,000 people die a year by committing suicide after being bullied. A lot of them were gay or lesbian or bisexual. Just because they’re different doesn’t mean they have no right to breathe the same air, something I’ve unfortunately heard people say, or worse, that they deserve to die. Even thinking such a thing is disgusting. How would you like it if someone told you that you should die? Not very much. Gosh, just knowing that this kind of thing is going on all around us makes me want to cry or yell at people.

I’m not saying that everyone else is wrong or bad, I’m just saying this is how I feel. Wholeheartedly I respect, embrace, and even encourage people to be whoever they are. Everyone has an opinion, and this just happens to be mine.

– B –

The “B” word

Sometimes, you get inspired. Sometimes, people or events inspire you. In this case, both of those elements came together.

I have, for a while now, been wondering what the next evolution of the Lemontree would look like. This, after all, was the blog that started “it” all. Where I discovered a certain strength in social media and where the power of the written word was reinforced, for me. I was able to give a voice to a cause that means something to me: the link between poverty & the lack of access to education. I still strongly believe in that cause…

Since the blog’s inception, I’ve also seen that youth from all walks of life have a need to articulate the causes in which they believe. Having the courage and the platform to let your voice shine through is not always easy. In late 2010, I introduced readers to Shane. Shane is part of the original inspiration for the blog and as he’s grown up, he shared his thoughts through poetry right here on The Lemontree, using words of hope and transformation. Shane is still writing, drawing sometimes, and working hard to, perhaps someday, become a history teacher.

More recently, I was approached by a friend of mine whose daughter (B) also wanted to see change in our world. You may recall many news headlines highlighting the very real, and very sad truth about bullying and what it can lead to… and, in many cases, targeting gay youth (here’s an example). Now, B has a very strong opinion on whether or not bullying is OK and she was looking for a place to say it out loud!

…And then, it dawned on me. The Lemontree – a place where the voice of hope, and ideas to shape the world, can come to life. Whether these ideas, opinions and dreams ever truly come to fruition, I – personally – can only hope. But in the meantime, this blog, The Original Lemontree, can be the place where we all start to make lemonade.

So, for the next post, I introduce B, so she can share her opinions and hope for a better world, for respect & acceptance and hopefully, for a world where bullying has no place.

Stop and Stare

Society judges

All that it sees;

Society judges

You and me.

Society stops;

Society stares.

Everyone gawks;

They all compare.

Society shuns

The ones who are different.

Society runs

From the ones who are indignant.

They wont accept you

For who you are.

They don’t accept you

If you’re not a star.

They all whisper;

They all sneer.

They believe

All that they hear.

They explore decisions

But have no facts.

They ignore opinions

Based on social class.

They are all clones;

They all are the same.

They wear the same clothes;

They share the same brain.

You plead your case –

They say you’re wrong;

You’re put in your place

While the order stays strong.

When you confront society,

They claim no comment;

But when you speak freely,

It is considered explicit content.

It doesn’t make sense

To be held back by freedoms.

Can we peacefully exist

With no fair treatment?

Shane Stevens

February 2011

decoding love

 

I want you for you.

I want you for me.

I want you far more

Than you could ever see.

 

I want you for your beauty.

I want you for your brains.

I want you

Even though you think it’s insane.

 

I want you for your style.

I want you for your flare.

I want you so much

That sometimes I’m scared.

 

I want you for your smile.

I want you for your eyes.

I want you enough

To never say goodbye.

 

I want you for your freckles.

I want you for your lips.

I want you for that amazing sensation

When we kiss.

 

I want you because you’re different.

I want you because you’re deep.

I want you because of the funny faces

That you make while you sleep.

 

I want you so much.

When you’re away,

I could count

Every single second and every single day.

 

Without you

My existence means nothing

And I could never live more

Than when we’re touching.

 

I miss you most

When we are apart,

And nothing calms my nerves

Like your ever-slow beating heart.

 

You keep me calm

When I’m over-thinking.

You keep me afloat

While my ship is sinking.

 

I look into your eyes.

I gaze into your soul.

I can feel the things

That cant be told.

 

A single tear

Running down your cheek

Could shred my heart;

Could make me weak.

 

I hold you when you’re here.

I miss you when you’re gone.

I could hold you through the night

Until you awake at the bright orange dawn.

 

When you fall,

I’ll pick you up.

When you feel empty,

I’ll fill your cup.

 

I cherish the time

We spend together.

The mood is heavy –

We float as a feather.

 

Shane Stevens

February 2011

 

Maybe tomorrow

I wake up,

put on my shoes-

I can’t stop thinking

about my dream of you.

There we were,

there we stand-

in the rain,

hand in hand,

standing there.

I gaze into your eyes-

they are like stars

in a dark night sky.

Standing there

far from distraction-

everything is right

without being in orderly fashion.

This may be wrong

but I know it’s right

and I only care

about you tonight.

As I awoke,

I felt the sorrow:

she may not want me today;

maybe tomorrow.

Shane Stevens

December 2010

The sound of rain

The sound of rain.

It can mean many things:

from the bloom of a flower

to the reason a caged bird sings.

The sound of a storm.

It can engulf the soul

when the hurricane’s swarm,

takes cities whole.

The storm is vicious

as it rips and tears;

women are screaming,

and children are scared.

But in the end

we come together

hand in hand;

we help each other.

No matter religion,

no matter your race –

in the face of danger,

everyone has a place.

In a perfect world,

we wouldnt rely

on tradgedy’s wrath

as the only way to re-unite.

Shane Stevens

November 2010

Happiness

Happiness comes through in many ways:

From a child’s laughter

to the first stroke

on an empty page.

When you fall –

get back on the saddle.

It’s not a skirmish,

it’s an uphill battle.

Sometimes you’re up;

Sometimes you’re down –

just like a roller coaster.

You will get tossed around.

Appriciate the good times

because they will fade.

Soon you will be sad,

lonely or even afraid.

But do not fret,

they’ll soon be back.

But emotions are odd;

they can not be tracked.

So the next time your angry

and you need control,

remember that emotions

are just part of the soul.

Happiness isn’t stable –

it comes and it goes.

The frustrating thing about it

is that you never surely know.

So don’t let emotions

take you over;

whether you’re drunk with power

or trying to stay sober.

Remember that happiness

comes from the mind.

It’s either something you have

or something to find.

Shane Stevens

Sept 2010

Once upon a love poem…

Love is a word

that gets abused.

Love is a word

that’s often misused.

It’s not what you say;

It’s all of what you do.

Do you love me

like I love you.

Love’s not just a word.

It’s something worth pondering:

most things aren’t love –

just an unplanned squandering.

People don’t think

before they say love;

they act on instinct

like an unnoticed shove.

Love is a journey.

there is no quick fix,

so what is your hurry –

just enjoy it.

When the time is right

and you know it’s true.

you will love me

and i’ll love you.

Love is a process,

slow but sure.

it is a Godsend,

and it is so pure.

It is not love

in which we desire,

but for the service of loneliness

to be no longer required.

So before you say love,

make sure you ponder:

is it really true love,

or another endless road I will wander?

Shane Stevens

August 2010

Deep in despair

Forever I am waiting,

longing for a home;

forever I will wander,

this winding path alone.

I live in a house

where no one cares,

and the people around me

just have blank stares.

In the place I will stay –

I’m treated like nothing,

with no compassion,

or sense of loving.

And in this place

in which I dwell,

with the empty halls

and the padded cells,

I sit and wonder

what is it like

to have people who love you,

and to be able to sleep at night.

In a home you are free;

and here I am bound.

And I’m able to see

that I’ll never be found.

With long days

and dark cold nights,

I sit and pray

to stop the fights.

Everyone argues.

It’s all to much to bare.

Why should I trust you

if you were never there.

Money doesn’t matter;

it really never has.

I want a bright future

to enlighten me gloomy past.

So forever I wait

for a place to call home,

and some one  to trust.

But until then I sit all alone.

Shane Stevens

August 2010

One last dream

when I dream a dream,

it’s all a wonder.

when I dream a dream,

there is never a blunder.

I need a dream –

no longer a nightmare –

with the moon’s magic beam,

not a vampire’s dark lair.

No, I need a dream

so I can fly high.

yes, I need a dream,

not a dark, ominous bind.

Before I dream,

I lay on a soft, plush cloud;

and while I sleep,

I’m skyward bound.

And as I drift,

I feel so empowered.

through the stars I sift.

over the world I tower.

To dream is to imagine;

to imagine is to see.

if you dream what’s already happened,

you have still yet to be.

In a single dream,

you can go many places:

whether a valley’s stream,

or a mountain’s many faces.

And the way it would seem,

it would last all day

but in length of the dream,

you get carried away.

So I dream a dream,

yet one more time.

I dream a dream,

I set free my mind.

Someone who dares

can go very far.

so why would you care?

just shoot for the stars.

No dream is the same

as the one just past,

so don’t pull the reigns;

let your mind run its path.

So don’t stress the small

because there is no need.

when it comes down to it all,

there is still one last dream.

Shane Stevens

July 2010