FEELING GUILTY IS A WASTE!

Guilt is created

by minds in turmoil

by devices at play

that make your blood boil

but never healthy

and never beneficial

so let me tell you something

and make it official

Let go of that emotion

created by your brain

you deserve some kindness

and that isn't being vain

So let those who love you

Do something oh so nice

Open your heart to getting help

Or you’ll surely pay the price!

MISTAKES, FAILURES AND DREAMS UNREALIZED

Lord knows I’ve had my share in life

Of failures, fiascos and mistakes

All just part of the journey

Like the reality of gives and takes

Thinking I’d always be a stellar success 

At everything I tried

Well here’s the great big wake up call

I wasn’t!!! … He sadly sighed

But all in all I have lived and loved

Received and given some joy

And sometimes, yes even sometimes

Was a very successful boy!

Nothing here too terribly profound

Esoteric or obscure

Just a very simple truth

Enlightening? I’m not really sure

We all have hopes, dreams and goals

In life we try to obtain

Sometimes never quite realized 

The struggle sometimes in vain

But the journey that you take in life

With its intricate winding road

Also brings unexpected wins

Like a Prince born of a toad!

It’s not about the fiascos in life

Or dreams that never came true

It all about the journey

Just trying the best that you can do

POETRY FOR POETRY’S SAKE

Poetry for poetry’s sake

Is all well and good you might say

I have another take on it though

So hear me out today

When words you spew all lofty and grand

Are splayed along a page

They’re nothing more than brain games

Regurgitated by some self-deluded sage

Unless those words do serve to heal 

The grieving hurting heart

And comfort those in dire pain

Souls pierced by some tragic dart

Or when those words uplift the spirit 

Of those fighting an uphill cause

And bolster hope and courage

While giving their pain some pause

If words do serve to make one think

To laugh, enrage or sob

And help a soul find solace and grace 

Then poetry has done its job

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Sometimes the life that brings you joy

Like being who you were born to be

Kills the love of those who think

You’re the root rot of the family tree

Bigotry is powerful

It makes a parent say

You’re still my son

but it disgusts me

Now please ... just stay away

Life is short, but not so sweet

When a parent refuses to see

That which allows a child to shine

Will bless that family tree

ABOUT GARY

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed, spent a lifetime supporting vulnerable families and children. He began his career working with children with and without disabilities in an inclusive Head Start program in Brooklyn, New York. He then transitioned to become the Special Needs and Early Childhood Coordinator for the Brooklyn Children's Museum for ten years. His passion for advocacy grew as he worked more and more with parents of children with disabilities. For over 24 years he passionately advocated for the needs of these parents as the Social Services and Training Director for Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc. in NYC. The last eight years of his working life, Gary served as a private Special Needs Consultant, conducting hundreds of training sessions throughout NYC, and beyond, to help parents and professionals find and access the services and systems required to facilitate maximizing the potential of their children with disabilities. Now happily retired, he still volunteers his time any way he can to provide information to those in need of his expertise.

E: shulman.gary@yahoo.com

W: www.garyshulman.jimdo.com