Listen.

Location

Listen.

Miscommunication sucks.

The people involved in this travesty feel unheard and underappreciated.

Each only focus on what they were trying to say

and what the other person didn’t understand.

Each only sees their side of the story.

This takes place within light family dinner conversations,

friendly interactions between acquaintances,

heated debates between politically active friends,

late night heart-to-hearts between roommates,

expressions of feeling between romantic partners,

there is no escaping it.

The sad thing is,

wherever you go,

whomever you interact with,

there will always be some level of this lack of understanding.

This is mainly because we cannot read minds

and we each have our unique perspectives that have been built up in layers from our unique experiences that nobody else has had.

The way that we combat this frustration is by trying to think like the other person,

by trying to see ourselves in the other’s shoes,

by trying to look at the situation from their perspective.

This still doesn’t work because we tend to assume too much of the other

and then the miscommunication continues and gets worse.

“You don’t know me, you don’t know my life, you don’t know what I’ve been through!”

People get insulted.

They feel even more unheard and underappreciated.

Maybe what we need to do is listen,

with our ears.

Focussing only on getting our point across may be our main objective in the conversation

but in doing so we end up talking to ourselves,

not learning new information,

new ways of thinking,

new ideas from others who have their unique perspectives that have been built up in layers from their unique experiences.

Maybe if we just listen to those we talk to we can understand them a little better

and ergo,

understand ourselves a little better too.

As we all try to figure out who we are and why we are on this confusing and complicated planet,

being able to see the connections and links between the people we come in contact with

allows us to figure out the way we are in relation to them.

How we act,

react,

interact.

Our identity depends on this.

Let’s exchange this miscommunication with genuine conversation.

Listen, and be listened to.

 

Comments

lizardoa21

All you have to do to keep misunderstandings to a minimum is listen. Though that sounds simple it is a lot more difficult then it sounds. We live in the day and age were you have to fight to be heard and you have to continuously move forward. We forget how to slow down, stop talking and truly listen to one another. It is another form of alienation nowadays cause no one really knows how to intereact with one another in a deeper sense then just "hey, saw the game last night?"

As for the poem you describe the benifits of listening very well and simply and it is a great piece. What inspired you to write this?

CBaldoni

I agree with you completely. And thanks for the feedback. This poem was inspired by conversations and arguments I have had with people or ones I have whitnessed. One argument I had recently with my dad fueled the words behind this poem. The miscommunication came from both sides and in the end we decided to work on listening to each other rather than yelling at each other. As you mentioned, listening is harder to do than one would think. I know I have a hard time listening to those close to me especially in a debate or argument. I am always working on that weakness. From my expirience most, if not all, arguments stem from miscommunication. It is frustrating being someone from the outside and seeing two people yell at each other when you know that the way these people phrase their comments or the tone people give their words impact the other person more than the meaning behind the words or the original intent. This poem also stems from the truth that communication is a big part of relationships, whether it be with family, friends, or romantic interests. It is a focus I have and it is one that I wanted to share.

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