Pearls Lost

Here's to the youngest of poets
the dreamers
shyly sharing
their inner thoughts for the
very first time.


Here's to the women
in houses found empty
for the very first time
who venture to pen words
held inside for decades.


Here's to the men
expressing thoughts
both fragile and bold
sharing shame and hopes
held hostage within.


And here's to the misfits
the disabled, insane, addicted, depressed
the lost
who stumble here in hopes
their most inner of fears will be
read, heard, validated
to assure them
by the simple recognition of others
that their souls
do indeed exist.


To these,
who are now
the least of our brethren
lost in this enormous unpredictable ocean of choppy writes
without the experience, relationships or skills
to bring their offerings to the peaks
where praise is lavished freely
I request we dive
as someone once
dove
for us
with an eye out
for
those pearls
lost
baring the
hidden treasure
of
human beings.