POEMS ABOUT ACCEPTANCE, ACCEPTING YOURSELF, SELF-ACCEPTANCE, ACCEPTING OTHERS
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My UNIQUENESS

It’s not my weakness,
it is my openness.
It’s not my doubts,
it is my questioning mind.
It’s not that I say too much,
it’s my courage to share.
It’s not my fear,
it’s my prudence.
It’s not my stupidity,
it’s my choice of what I
want to know.
It’s not my credulity,
it is my trust.
It’s not my depression,
it is my acceptance.
It’s not my recklessness,
it is my curiosity,
and love of life.
It’s not my chaos,
it’s my artistic soul.
It’s not my weakness,
it is my
UNIQUENESS.

LILIANA KOHANN
   ©Artpeace 2001

IF PERFECT I COULD BE

Oh, if perfect I could be
I would be so good to me...
I would be so happy
and so pleased with me.

I’d make perfect speeches. 
I would only do what’s best!
People would admire me. 
I would hardly need to rest.

I wouldn’t eat junk.
I’d make no mistakes.
I’d never talk too much.
I’d give what it takes.

I would make my living
doing what I love to do.
I’d pray every night.
I’d always be true.

I’d solve every problem.
I’d help everyone.
I’d be a perfect mother.
I’d have a perfect son. 

I’d always be peaceful,
never sad or depressed.
I would be spontaneous.
I would sing my best. 

I’d have a healthy body.
I’d do nothing in vain.
Failure would not know me.
I would not know pain.

I would have perfect vision.
Oh, how nice it’d be to see
how my flaws and faults
perfectly perfect me.

LILIANA KOHANN
©Artpeace Publishing ~2010
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MY WOUNDS AND FEELINGS

Am I too sensitive?
Do I really feel too much?

"Become tough and resilient,
lose your feeling, lose your crutch.

There's no reason for your pain.
Be like soldier, tough and strong.
Your indifference will protect you,
Feeling pain is simply wrong.

Little things affect you too much,
You so easily shed your tears.
Your compassion makes you weak
Your openness makes you sheer."

Yes, I feel. Yes, I've been wounded.
That's who I am, and how I live.
But it is my wounds and feelings
That taught me to 
                             truly give.

LILIANA KOHANN
©Artpeace

*I found this beautiful Multi Modal presentation of this poem on Youtube, recited and made by a young girl. It touched my heart that she picked that poem. You can see it HERE.

The words that you read in this poem above is what I heard a lot as a child and sometimes in my adult life. I heard often that I was too sensitive, or too emotional, etc. In some ways there is still in me a little bit of this feeling that maybe I need to work on being tougher, on being less sensitive. So when I read Daniell Koepke's quote, it felt as Daniell was speaking to me, like she was responding to this poem, and I wanted to share it with you:

"Despite what you may have been taught, your sensitivity doesn’t make you weak. It doesn’t make you too emotional, too soft, or in any way too much.
It has always been and will always be a strength. The truth is that you can be soft and still be strong. You aren’t a rock, immune to the shift and pull of the world around you. You’re the ocean. Always ebbing and flowing; easily affected by the moon and the weather. But immense and deep. Resilient and powerful. Bounding with life. Yes, you feel things intensely and yes, you’re easily wounded by others. But it’s the intensity of your feelings that gives you such incredible insight into who you are and what you need to feel whole. It’s that intensity that makes you deeply connected to yourself and the world around you. And it’s your wounds that allow you to be empathetic and compassionate towards the wounds of others. Wounds that give you an awareness to recognize when people are hurting, and tools to offer support in ways that less sensitive people might not be able to. I know that it’s so hard to believe in the moment when you feel incapacitated by your feelings, but your sensitivity is a truly a gift.
Don’t let anyone, including yourself, convince you otherwise."
                          — Daniell Koepke

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