Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Fatherless Parenting



To Father (from Mother of Child)

This wasn’t in my wildest dreams
Raising our child all alone
Playing both mommy and daddy
Paying this mortgage on my own

How could you sleep at night?
Knowing that your child needs you?
Knowing that they need food?
Knowing that they need shoes?

Knowing that it takes two to tango
You’re just repeating what your dad did
He ran in and out of your life for years
You never understood as you were a kid

But now that you are a grown adult
I thought you’d never act this way
Doing the same exact thing he did
You hit rewind and pressed replay

You weren’t cut out to be a parent
I wish back then it was apparent
But it’s true, you live and you learn
You can continue to be transparent

Because we will make it without you
You are the one who’s missing out
You were trying to get back at me
But me is not who it’s about

To Father (from Child)

Since I have talked to you last
It’s been forever and some days
I prayed for you all the time
Hoping that one day you’d change your ways

What is it that I did wrong?
I went to school and got straight A’s
I took care of mom when you were gone
All I ever wanted was some praise

All I ever wanted was your love
All I ever wanted was a father
All I ever needed was for you to be there
But now, please don’t bother

Because I’ve made it this far without you
There is no doubt I still have a void
You were supposed to be a role model
And you have no idea what you destroyed

You have destroyed my self-esteem
You have destroyed so much more
But I have regained my control
So destroy me, you will no more

The damage has already been done
And I made it through as a result
But no matter how old that I get
Remember I’m the child, you’re the adult


To Mother and Child (from Father)

I’m so taken aback by these words
I did the best that I could
Well, with what I had
I think you both misunderstood

See I was raised by a single mother
My dad left me when I was young
He would promise to come and get me
So his words is where I clung

He was never a role model to me
Where was I supposed to learn?
I never wanted to be like him
Where did I make the wrong turn?

The truth is that I was scared
So I ran because it was painless
I never wanted it to be like this
I wish that I could make your pain less

But please use me as a teacher
I have taught you to be strong
I have taught you to overcome
I can’t admit that I was wrong

You both may think I’m a coward
But I am still a man with pride
If you are ever feeling down
Read Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise

Because life will throw you lemons
Making lemonade is up to you
Whether you forgive me is the same
That is totally up to you too


To All (from Me)

Single mom and fatherless child
Consider it a blessing in disguise
Because you can learn from every time
That your eyes and heart cries

You both should forgive him
I’m glad that you wrote these letters
I want you to know that he was right
If he knew how, he would have done better

Just know that it’s not your fault
His absenteeism has to do with him
Making lemonade is still your choice
You can sink or you can swim

To the father that is missing out
Still I Rise is a great poem
But how can you go through life
When you have a child and do not know them?

Having no father is not an excuse
But what it does is help to explain
Why you stepped out on your child
And then went and did the same

As an adult you had a choice
Repeat history or be a man
Because a real man raises his child
And every addition to his clan

Please let this be a lesson to all
While no child asks to be born
Whenever “life happens” you have a choice
Either learn and forgive or be scorned

Unless otherwise noted, All content © Brittney Pressley, 2012.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Success...



You should dress for success
Put on your suit and your tie
Or your heels and your skirt
Then reach for the sky

That’s all we have to do, right?
Put on our best attire?
Then up and up we go
Until the day that we retire

We all wish it was that easy
But success is something else
We can aim for the stars
But can’t do it by ourselves

We need someone to push us
We may not like to be pushed but
Without a little push and shove
Then push comes to shove, then what?

You should stop right here
Before you can continue to read through
You have to define what success means
While standing on your own two

…………………
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When you are done reflecting
You can follow your own dreams
Just know that as much as you climb
Success is not what it seems

If you think it’s just about you
Success encompasses a lot more
How many people have you inspired?
Or helped pull up from the floor?

How much money you acquire
Really doesn’t mean a thing
If instead of being selfless
You’d rather go and buy some bling

Surround yourself with the right people
Keep your inner circle tight
Because if one snake exists
There will be a venomous bite

Go ahead and impact the world
That would be magnificent
In getting and gaining you become successful
But only in serving do you become significant

Unless otherwise noted, All content © Brittney Pressley, 2012

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Golden Rule


Treat others the way you want to be treated – not the way they treat you! What’s wrong? Does that sound like it doesn’t make sense? If someone does you wrong, why should you do right by them? Well…

 Read in between the lines
 It’s not as complicated as it seems
 This has nothing to do with revenge
 Nothing to do with schemes

 Everything to do with karma
 A little about being polite
 As we learned at the age of five
 Two wrongs don’t make it right

 If two wrongs doesn’t make it right
 Then that should be all you need
 To never intentionally cause harm
 Your pride should not supersede

 What you know is true already
 Don’t stoop down to being petty
 Just be real with yourself
 Don’t fake it like Machiavelli

 When a person does you wrong
 You know karma is coming to them
 But as soon as you retaliate
 Just know it’s coming around again

 Then the vicious cycle begins
 Round and round it goes
 Until everyone is worn out
 Now who delivers the last blow?

 Someone has to stand up
 Then throw their hands up
 And realize it’s not worth it
 Most places we call that “man up”

 Manning up is for men and women
 Don’t focus on that and get offended
 This is intended to open your heart
 And if it’s broken this is to mend it

 What’s done in the dark
 Will one day come to light
 So take off your gloves
 There’s no need to fight

 Because you’d be fighting yourself
 And the karmic forces
 Think before you act
 Is the motto I’m endorsin’

 If it’s too painful or shameful
 To not attack the attacker
 Then ‘ready, set, hike’
 Go ahead and be the linebacker

 But know that’ll get you no where
 You can act like you have no fear
 You can even turn a deaf ear
 So exit right off my blog if you don’t care

 But since you’re here I guess you do
 There’s not much more for me to walk you through
 One last thing and it’s not new
 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

 Unless otherwise noted, All content © Brittney Pressley, 2012.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Virtue Is...

What is virtue?
Is it doing something good?
Giving to the homeless?
Have I misunderstood?

Is it rescuing an abused pet?
Wait, maybe it’s a lot deeper
Only follow along
If you are a deep thinker

It’s principle
Morality
Doing better
Mentality
It’s facts
Reality
Higher power
Spirituality
It’s freedom
Liberality
What it’s not is brutality, irrationality, or partiality
It’s altruism in totality

Unselfish acts and respect
Wanting to grow and affect
The lives of those who aren't as pure
Knowing the world is not perfect

We were all born with a clean slate
But what happened as we got older?
We took pleasure in sin
And the media tried to mold us

Still we are responsible for our choices
Our actions, our voices
No one opened up our mouths
We chose to drink the poison

That lifestyle is worthless
Deters us from our purpose
The more we strive towards excellence
Perhaps we’d be closer to virtuous

Excellence without selfishness
Excellence without ego
Excellence with moral responsibility
Excellence with oswego

That means “the outpouring”

An outpouring of goodness
An outpouring of uprightness
An outpouring of righteousness
But not of uptightness

Loosen up a little bit
Morality is fundamental
Virtue is instrumental
Let’s not be judgmental

Of those who are not like us
Lend a hand and pull them up
Remember you aren't perfect either
Aren’t you a faithful believer?

That’s happiness at its best
Putting chastity to the test
Be as virtuous as possible
Because you my friend are blessed

Unless otherwise noted, All content © Brittney Pressley, 2012.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

True Friendship


Sista from another mista
Brother from another mother
No matter what you call it
The bond is like no other

Maybe you met in college
Maybe you met at work
Or maybe at the bar
But it feels like you met at birth

They always know when something’s up
And when you’re feeling a little blue
You can try to tell a lie
But they know it’s not the truth

The moment that you met
You knew the friendship would last forever
Trust came naturally
And you’d disrespect them never

Well, not on purpose anyway
But listen to what they have to say
If you crossed that line
Then apologize right away

You can go months without speaking
But when you finally do
You’ll pick up where you left off
Nothing like their point of view

You could talk all night
Where the hours pass on by
Sometimes you cry until you laugh
Sometimes laugh until you cry

Either way they’re here to stay
That’s how you’d like it to be
You can call them at odd hours
Midnight, one, two, or three

And they are always there to listen
To help you pick up the pieces
Nurture you during break-ups
And as your connection increases

They’ll open up your fridge
Be there for your kids
Without even asking
That’s just the way it is

They’ll laugh at you when you fall
Take your keys if you’re drunk
They encourage you to be better
And then go back to talking junk

They know your favorite meal
They know your favorite track
They know your favorite this
They know your favorite that

True friends are hard to come by
Cherish them until the end
After all, they are more like family
Much deeper than just a friend

Unless otherwise noted, All content © Brittney Pressley, 2012.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Birthdays and Getting Older...


"Another candle on the cake
Make a wish before you blow
Another year filled with life
More wisdom added to what you know

The days seem to fly by so fast
24 hours is never enough
Yet the years go by so slowly
It feels like your life is in slow-mo

Until one day fast-forward is pushed
And you look in the mirror wondering what happened
Where did those precious years go?
Those gray hairs make you mad and

Your kids are growing up
Nieces and nephews in college
So you tell them the lessons you learned
Just to kick a little knowledge

And you wonder if they'll listen
Or will they just roll their eyes
Do they think you are too old
To give advice about their lives?

The truth needs to be told
Look back in the mirror at your face
You may be a year older
But you still live your life with grace

Youthful like a child
Tons of laughs to get you through
Genuine friendships and strong family ties
How can you be so blue?

That you gained another year
Because you have gained so much more
Another year filled with faith
So much strength added to your core

Embrace this new year
You have much more to learn
A lot more to teach
You should have no concern

Because the longer you are here
The better the world will be
Remember that love costs nothing
And the best things are free"

Unless otherwise noted, All content © Brittney Pressley, 2012.