Poet of the Week: Florence Kleiner

This week’s Poet of the week is a very special one. I heard this poem read aloud by Yasmin Mannon (Head News Editor) at the International Women’s Day Spoken Word event run by Seevana Raghubeer. The poem was written by and read in remembrance of Florence Kleiner, who sadly passed from Leukaemia several years ago. The poem was inspiring and moving and should be read by all. If you would like to read more of Florence’s writing you can do so on the blog she wrote during her illness at flosskleiner.wordpress.com.

Florence Kleiner Yearbook Page

Go out into the world and spread your passion. Rip open hearts with your fury and tear down egos with your modesty. Be the person you wish you could be, not the person you feel you are doomed to be. Be incredible, be fearless, be inspirational, be mind-blowingly insane, but most of all be a person you could be proud of. Don’t satisfy the wishes of others, satisfy your own. Live everyday as if it were made especially for you to shine. The world may owe you nothing, but you owe the world something. You owe the world your ability, your skill, your intelligence, your humour, your character and your heart. You were made so that someone could love you. Let them love you. Let that feeling consume you and then let it flow from your fingertips and pass into another. Let yourself run away with your feelings. Don’t let someone tell you to stop being emotional or to calm down. Cry like you’ve lost everything and laugh like you’ve never experienced it before. Be kind. Be wary. Be vigilant. Fight your own battles and let others fight their own. Learn when to get involved and when to take a step back. Be receptive and listen. Listen to others and in turn they will listen to you. Don’t be afraid. Never fear the unknown. Be reckless and cautious. Destroy boundaries and limitations. Set yourself goals that you will never achieve. Strive every day to reach those goals. Climb the tallest mountains and dive into the deepest pits of the earth to find yourself. Be confident and be wise. Be self-deprecating but do not under appreciate yourself. Never stop learning. Do not think you are ‘better’ than someone because you may have a higher IQ. Do not look down on the world but look up to it. Strive to better yourself, to be more like others and an amalgamation of everything that is commendable. Nothing is impossible. Nothing is extraordinary. Everything is ordinary at first; it is your job to make it feel extraordinary to you. You make your life. No one can live for you. No one can tell you how to live your life. It may seem that life is difficult at times but it’s really as simple as breathing in and out. You were given life by whichever way you may choose. By incredible chance, or by a higher power. It matters not who gave you life or how life came to you. Do not enforce your beliefs on others. Let people believe what they want to and do not think upon them badly because of it. As long as they are not using it as a way to harm others then there is no harm in what they are doing. Choose not to be offended. Do not hold grudges. Never hate. Life is too short to waste energy on those who do not deserve it. You don’t like something? Change it. But do it because you want to, not because you feel you have to. Be strong. Have thick skin. But don’t be built of stone walls. Let things affect you. Let yourself feel every emotion. Accept that not everyone will like you. Accept that life is full of ups and downs. Accept that one day you will die and this life, no matter what may come after it, is over for now. Make use of the time you have. Appreciate the small things. Do not regret anything you do. In the end it makes you who you are, the person you were meant to become. Accept that you may hurt others. But, acknowledge that you have done it and apologise. Apologise. Apologise. Apologise. Be strong enough to admit you were wrong and say sorry. Know when to step down and admit defeat. But never give up on yourself. If you feel strongly about something, pursue it until the end. Don’t place too much importance on too many things. Treasure the precious things in life. Your family, your friends, and yourself. There is no such thing as success or failure. There is just life and the hand it deals us. Take every chance you can and leap at every opportunity. You are you. You are free. Free to become whatever you choose.

Choose your friends wisely.

Good Luck.