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I thought a thought

October 25, 2016 By Emily 67 Comments

I-thought-a-thought

Image credit

I thought a thought, an interesting thought,
So I put it out into the world.

I nodded my head, and turned away,
And the nastiness unfurled.

 

Someone else thought a thought about my thought,
And put it out into the world.

They issued a coded call to arms,
And abuse was suddenly hurled.

Hundreds and thousands of comments were shared,
Some measured; some angry and cruel.

The language was varied, the message the same:
I’d broken an unwritten rule.

If I’m to share my thoughts in this world,
They must adhere to the norm.

I must follow the leaders, the kings and queens,
I must worship, obey, conform.

 

I thought a thought, an interesting thought,
That I was too scared to share.

I kept it inside, where it could hide,
And no-one could see it there.

 

I kept it inside, and tried to pretend,
That I didn’t really care.

—

 

I witnessed some pretty awful behaviour on the weekend. I hope I never see anything like it again.

For Lisa x  #idratherbeme

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: opinion

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Comments

  1. Robyna May | the mummy and the minx says

    October 25, 2016 at 6:54 am

    Perfect Em xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:28 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  2. Carmen says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:08 am

    This is wonderful. #idratherbeme

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:29 pm

      Thank you so much. Loved your take, too.

      Reply
  3. Renee Wilson says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:15 am

    Beautiful! I absolutely love this, Em, and Lisa will too x #teamIBOT

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:34 pm

      Thanks, Renee. That’s the main thing.

      Reply
  4. EssentiallyJess says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:16 am

    Well done Em.
    I only heard about all this yesterday. I’ve kept quiet so many times online because of this exact reason; anything that’s not considered ‘normal,’ is wrong, but who decides what normal in the first place?

    Reply
    • Denyse Whelan Blogs says

      October 25, 2016 at 11:53 am

      Exactly Jess! xx

      Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:34 pm

      And there’s always a new normal to try to keep up with. Too exhausting. I’ll just be me.

      Reply
  5. Hugzilla says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:23 am

    I. fucking. love. you. This is brilliant. So measured, yet so fucking on point.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:35 pm

      You set off my comment moderator! Fuck yeah! Thanks x

      Reply
  6. Nicole @ The Builder's Wife says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:39 am

    Perfect, brilliant!! x

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:36 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  7. Claire @ Life on Wallace says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:46 am

    Measured, eloquent and on point. Perfect!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:38 pm

      Ooh, the trifecta! Thank you so much.

      Reply
  8. Maxabella says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:46 am

    Absolutely fabulous!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:39 pm

      Thanks, Bron – and thanks for the initial nudge. x

      Reply
  9. Deb @ inner compass designs says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:47 am

    Brilliant. Love this Em.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:41 pm

      Thanks, Deb x

      Reply
  10. Ingrid @ Fabulous and Fun Life says

    October 25, 2016 at 8:02 am

    Oh dear! I missed the drama but I love this!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:41 pm

      Well worth missing. Thank you.

      Reply
  11. Nicole Webb says

    October 25, 2016 at 8:49 am

    Perfection, nothing more need be said.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:42 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  12. Lydia C. Lee says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:14 am

    Lovely poem. I’ve been off line for so long I’ve obviously missed something….

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:43 pm

      And that’s not a bad thing!

      Reply
  13. Lauren @ The Thud says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:41 am

    This is wonderful. You’re a real talent, Em xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:45 pm

      This means a lot, Lauren. Thank you x

      Reply
  14. Erika @ Ever-changing Life of a Mum says

    October 25, 2016 at 10:03 am

    I only caught up with what has been going on this morning. So well written Em x

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:45 pm

      Thanks. It’s a lot to take in!

      Reply
  15. Amy @ HandbagMafia says

    October 25, 2016 at 10:36 am

    Perfect. Just perfect.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:49 pm

      *blushes* Thank you x

      Reply
  16. Becky says

    October 25, 2016 at 10:55 am

    Perfect. I actually have welled up, I hope to never see such a thing again either.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:50 pm

      Oh, wow! Not that I want to make people cry, but I didn’t think it was that powerful. Thank you. Yes – hopefully I’m never inspired to write something like this again.

      Reply
  17. Dawn says

    October 25, 2016 at 10:56 am

    Well said Em. Xo

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:50 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  18. Sarah @SheWrites says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:12 am

    Beautiful writing as always Em! Nothing more needs to be said.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:55 pm

      Thanks. And I will say no more about it. x

      Reply
  19. Sandra Kelly says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:17 am

    Heartfelt. Beautifully shared. Xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:58 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  20. Lauren Paris - Gold Coast Mum says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:31 am

    Fabulous Em!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:58 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  21. Kez @ Awesomely Unprepared says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:34 am

    So sad but true. I wish we were all better than that xxx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 7:59 pm

      Wouldn’t it be nice? Human flaws are acceptable; targeted nastiness, not so much. Thank you.

      Reply
  22. Deborah says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:43 am

    I don’t know the context, but it’s beautiful!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 8:03 pm

      Thank you. Glad it still works without context.

      Reply
  23. Denyse Whelan Blogs says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:58 am

    Where Emily’s words are written, wisdom follows. Thank you for being the person who writes and thinks. Denyse xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 8:06 pm

      You are always too, too kind. Thank you, Denyse.

      Reply
  24. JF Gibson says

    October 25, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    You have such a way with words Em. I’m totally envious. And totally agree with it. I’ve only just caught up with the happenings, glad I missed it really. No one needs that nor deserves that in their life.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 8:07 pm

      Oh, you. Stop it. Your talent with words invokes plenty of envy itself! Thank you.

      Reply
  25. Jo @ You had us at hello says

    October 25, 2016 at 12:10 pm

    That made me teary! Beautiful Em xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 8:11 pm

      Thank you. And sorry about the teariness. x

      Reply
  26. CarLy says

    October 25, 2016 at 12:14 pm

    Beautiful x

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 8:11 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  27. Ness says

    October 25, 2016 at 2:37 pm

    You are truly gifted. Love this.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 8:12 pm

      Too generous. But thank you. #headexpands #headexplodes

      Reply
  28. Melinda says

    October 25, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    Yep and yep. That stuff was truly frightening and this is really beautiful.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 9:10 pm

      I love that beautiful things can come from horrible beginnings. Thank you.

      Reply
  29. Joy Adan @joyadanwrites says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:05 pm

    Beautifully written Em. This is perfect. We can pretend we don’t care… but heavy hearts know the truth.

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 9:28 pm

      So glad my final point is clear. Is it better to keep things inside? I don’t think so. Our discussions just need to mature. x

      Reply
  30. Tash @ Gift Grapevine says

    October 26, 2016 at 12:54 am

    Your way with words never ceases to amaze me Em xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 9:29 pm

      Such a lovely thing to say. Thanks x

      Reply
  31. Natalie @ Our Parallel Connection says

    October 26, 2016 at 6:31 am

    Perfect Em. Love it

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 9:29 pm

      Thank you x

      Reply
  32. Tegan says

    October 26, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    What a boring place it would be if we were all too scared to share our thoughts. I love this xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 26, 2016 at 9:30 pm

      YES. We need to be able to let them out into the world.

      Reply
  33. Michele McDonald says

    October 27, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    There seems to be a lot of negativity going around at the moment! Loved the poem and am going to put it up at work.

    Thank you Em and wishes for only good comments in the future!!
    Michele

    Reply
    • Emily says

      October 29, 2016 at 2:36 pm

      Thank you! This wasn’t inspired by direct experience, but sometimes witnessing something happen to someone else can hit you almost as hard. x

      Reply

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Hi! I’m Emily

I parent. I write. I blog. I play with words and numbers in my head. Constantly. It's crowded in there.

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