Shameless
#19 of National Poetry Writing Month
Poem number 19 for National Poetry Month! This one is about my thoughts on the difference between shame and guilt. Keep in mind this is just my thoughts/partially my own experiences here.
Shame is pointless. Shame is worthless. Shame is useless. Shame is meaningless.
Shame is an immobilizing poison that serves no purpose other then to make you feel bad over something you may not even have done yourself.
Shame is a defense. Shame is an excuse. Shame is standing there feeling bad for yourself when you could be doing something about it.
Shame is not guilt. Guilt is not shame.
Anyone can feel ashamed of what they've done. But how many of them honestly feel guilty over it?
Guilt gnaws away at you. It stabs at you. It sinks its claws into your brain and refuses to let go until you have gotten up and done something to fix the situation.
Shame is not guilt. Shame can be ignored. Guilt cannot.
Shame can linger for a short time but it can also fade away just as quickly as it came.
If you've done something to me then I don't want you to stand there being ashamed of yourself. I want you to feel guilty.
Those who feel truly, deeply guilty are compelled to do something. Those who feel shame stand there waiting for the world to change around them.
Standing there in shame over the sins others have committed is pointless.
If you really felt that bad you would get up and do something to fix it. And if you couldn't fix it then at least you would have the satisfaction of knowing you did more then just stand there watching it happen.
I don't want to feel shame. I want to feel guilt. I don't want to stand there feeling sorry for myself while after something bad happens.
I want to be the one who stands up and stops it from happening at all. And if I couldn't stop it. If I couldn't help them then at least I know I tried my best.
At least I know I didn't leave them to suffer alone thinking that no one else noticed or cared.
You may have felt ashamed when you saw what they said but do you feel guilty?
Do you even remember it at all?