The Difference Now

One of the most popular poems I ever wrote was “The Difference Now.” This was the name of my first book and the title poem became one that people really resonated with. I included the poem in my New and Selected Poems book, and it’s really been a theme for my life. I decided to play with some stamps and layering to put a portion of the poem on a print.

I wrote this poem (the entire poem is longer than the words shown on this print) after a really bad day. I won’t get into the details because I don’t believe in giving the bad memories more attention than the good ones. I like to take them, write poetry about them, and create something new that can inspire. I hope this poem does that.

What I realized after my bad day was that there are small people who try and hurt you, if for no other reason than because they don’t know you and assume things about you. How many times do people do this to us? How many times have you had someone with an agenda create negative stories about you that don’t even resemble the truth? They don’t like you and as a result do everything they can to make sure others feel the same way, all before anyone gets to know you.

The event that inspired this poem was small in the overall view of my life. At the time, however, it was truly hurtful. I cried and then thought, “Why am I crying? These people don’t care.” I wrote this poem and it’s been a theme that has stuck in my life, like: If you want to get to know me, great. If not, I guess I’ll just move on and do my thing.

If you like this print, it’s available in my Etsy store.