Poetic Opinions

GREED

2010-05-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Gone - are the days when we could breathe the air without consequence, drink the water without processing it first, enjoy the plentiful bounty our pristine oceans offered up before we poisoned them, discover the joy in every creature that makes up this planet before we destroyed them all! Why would future generations want to remember us?

Repercussions – they are what our children will be forced to reckon with! Everything we’ve ever touched has either been contaminated or destroyed, and we did it without conscience in our quest for riches. We cannot live forever, and we cannot take it with us, so was it worth it?

Evil – lives in the heart of every human being! But it was always our choice to let it rise to the surface and consume us. We were the ones who brutally beat our precious Mother Earth into submission! But what did we really accomplish?

Each – and every one of us are responsible for what we will NOT leave behind for future generations! We will not leave them clean air, drinkable water, sustainable food resources, or a planet that will survive! Our legacy will be a dying planet that will one day succumb to our horrible abuse! How’s that for a legacy?

Does – anyone really care? Are we so blinded by greed and power that nothing else in the universe matters? Do we really believe we’re that important? We are not the ones who will pay the ultimate price for our destructive ways. Why don’t we ask the children what they’d like us to leave behind for them? Maybe in their innocence we will find the only answers that make sense!

© Annabel Sheila

Tent Cities Springing Up In The USA

2009-02-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

The Oprah Show that aired on Feb. 25th, was the most heartwrenching program I've seen in a very long while. How can it be that in a country with so much wealth, blue-collar citizens are living in tents because with the horrific downturn in the economy they've lost their homes? How can the fortunate wealthy let this happen in their own country? Where is the humanity in society when few have much and most have nothing? These people are unfortunate victims of circumstance. They are not people who choose not to work, or pay their bills. How can the millionaires and billionaires sleep at night in their big. comfy beds, while decent fellow citizens are sleeping on the ground in a tent, unable to find a job to make their lives better? Shame on the wealthy! In the end, we will all be judged by our wealth - not by how much money we had, but our worth as a human being. It is shocking that in 2009, things like this happen and nothing is done to make this world a better place for everyone!

A Significant Problem

2009-02-03T16:01:00.000-08:00

We humans have survived our own history,
And that was an incredible feat,
Considering the wars, and planet abuse,
We continuously seem to repeat.

We’ve been around for thousands of years,
Through plagues and ills of all kinds,
Now there’s a pill for unimaginable ills,
For our bodies and our minds.

We’ve even outlived countless animals,
In fact we’ve wiped them out.
For there’s no creature as important as us,
Aren’t we what life is about?

But a significant problem has surfaced,
For every man and woman alive.
If we don’t stop destroying our planet,
Not even humans will survive.

- Annabel Sheila

A Cashless Society

2009-01-30T07:13:00.000-08:00

A Cashless Society

We live in a cashless society,
Quite a while it’s been around,
Sooner or later it had to give,
And the axe has finally come down.

There are very few among us,
Not living beyond our means,
Our burden of debt is breaking our backs,
Destroying our hopes and dreams.

We can’t afford to save a cent,
Our credit card debt is obscene,
We can’t see beyond our next paycheck,
Our economy’s the worst it’s been.

Debit card, credit card, don’t pay now,
No interest for a year.
But jobs disappear without warning,
Then we live with stress and fear.

Our leaders will gladly lend a hand,
To the corporate giants in need,
But you and I will have to pay,
For years of corporate greed.

How in the world did this happen?
When did things get so bad?
Maybe a cashless society’s not,
The best idea we’ve had.

- Annabel Sheila

Homelessness - Shame on us!

2009-01-15T07:04:00.000-08:00

It's frigidly cold here in our city, and last night on the news I heard a Red Cross announcement advising homeless people to go to shelters. So, how exactly were the homeless people going to get this message. They are not driving cars while listening to the radio, watching television in the comfort of their homes, etc. In our beautiful, bountiful country, there should be no homelessness. In our city we spend money to do cosmetics to city properties; build new government offices; and countless other "necessary" expenditures. Why can't we build shelters? Places to go if you're homeless? A warm place to sleep in the winter months, a safe place to sleep all year. Shame on us Canada! No one would "choose" to be homeless. We've got our priorities seriously screwed up!

Il Divo In Concert - A dream come true!

2009-01-08T11:17:00.001-08:00

A dream of mine is coming true. I am going to the Il Divo concert in Halifax, April 28, 2009. I have been following these extraordinarily gifted singers since their concept a few years ago. Simon Cowell, I could not begin to thank you enough for bringing this group of "Divine Male Performers" to the world!!! Emotions surge completely untapped with every song they sing! I will have to remember to breathe when I attend that concert in April. Their music is amazing! Do I have a favourite song? Quite simply, every single song they sing!! Can't wait!

Wait Time At Hospitals

2009-01-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

I simply don't understand how a young woman with a broken foot can be left sitting in the waiting room of a hospital for 16 hours before being seen by a doctor, or having an x-ray. She sat in a wheelchair with her foot elevated the best she could, in terrible pain, without so much as a "can we get you something" from the nurses at the emergency reception area who knew why she was there and I'm pretty sure realized just by observing - her foot was broken. Before going to emergency she called the tele-care nurse to verify that she should indeed proceed to the hospital. The nurse advised her from her symptoms that she should get to the hospital and have the foot x-rayed; she told the young woman she would call the emergency department and give them a heads-up she would be coming in. A lot of good that did!!! For anyone who cares to listen to me, if you should fall, cut yourself badly, or whatever......CALL an ambulance! It's the only way, from my observation, to get emergency treatment at the hospital! The young woman's foot was indeed broken in several places and had to be cast for six weeks. It is simply not acceptable to have to wait 16 hours to see a doctor at emergency! Our politicians promised us shorter wait times, and we trusted them! I'm just guessing....but maybe the shorter wait times were for politicians and their families!

Cats and Stress

2008-12-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

Gotta love cats! I have four wonderful furry felines in my home. My Blue cat loves to sit in my office wth me while I write. When he's finished chasing the cursor around the screen, he usually sits in the window and naps, leaving me to get on with my writing. Stress like him I can live with!

Free Smiles

2008-12-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, when hearts are full and pocketbooks are empty. But helping out doesn't always involve digging into your pockets. Try volunteering to man or woman the Salvation Army Kettle location. I did today for 2 hours and I will again on the 12th. I handed out free smiles to every person who walked by, whether they wanted to return one or not. My smiles didn't cost me a thing, and a few receivers mentioned how much they enjoyed my gift to them! I plan to hand out smiles all through the season, and maybe I can help lift spirits!

Thankful

2008-12-04T05:15:00.001-08:00

Another new day, and I'm thankful I woke up. I'm thankful I was able to get out of bed on my own; I'm thankful for all of the gifts that surround me (family, love, pets); I'm thankful the sun is shining, even though it's nippy out there; I'm thankful for another day on this beautiful planet!

Depression And Coping

2008-12-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

Fighting Depression

Always darkest before the dawn,
Isn’t that how it goes?
Life is blackness shrouding me,
More than anyone knows.

Torment carried in my soul,
Struggling not to give in.
Maybe I should tell someone,
But who - and where to begin?

How can I be that person?
The one who couldn’t cope.
Medication is a fix, not a cure,
But at least it gives me hope.

Genetically dealt a nasty blow.
Both parents brought the gene.
Blaming them wouldn’t help
And it would be so mean.

There must be more to life than this.
Somehow I’ll find my way.
I’ve come this far – I must go on.
Move forward every day!

- Annabel Sheila

Climate Change

2008-12-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

It was eleven degrees celsius yesterday; t-shirt weather on December 1st! It will be warm again today. As I sit here and watch the globe warm up at an ever-increasing rate, I can't help but think back over Decembers past. Growing up in Newfoundland, I can guarantee we never saw warm temperatures and no snow! I realize there are sceptics out there who don't believe the planet is warming too fast, but I'm going to work even harder this year 2009 to do my part in reducing green house gases. I BELIEVE!

Paying With Cash

2008-11-27T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hustling and bustling has begun in earnest! Hopefully people will be more cautious with spending this Christmas. The world is in such a financial mess. What ever happened to the "paying with cash" days? Those were the good old days. You got what you needed and no credit card companies were sucking the life out of you with interest on the payments you can't afford anyway. Eeesh!

Trying to make a difference

2008-11-19T05:13:00.000-08:00

In our rapidly spinning world, sometimes we don't pause long enough to see outside of our own little circle. Guilty! However, in the fall of 2007 I learned some devastating statistics about the AIDS Pandemic in the Caribbean, that literally stopped me in my tracks. Children are living with AIDS, they are being born with AIDS, and they are not educated about the disease and its spread. I had to do something! And I did...I write lyrical poems/stories for children and grown-ups and have accumulated quite a stockpile of my work. I put together and illustrated a storybook called "Tell Me A Story" that I am using as a fundraiser for the Kiwanis/Unicef AIDS Project in the Caribbean. (The Caribbean has the second highest rate of AIDS next to sub-Saharan Africa.) The goal of the project is to raise one million dollars to help educate and protect the children of the Caribbean, so they may have a future. I am passionate about this project and spreading the word wherever and whenever I can.