A Family Poem for the World

A Participatory Project Created By YOU!
Edited and Introduced by John Schlimm, in partnership with Familius

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Launched on April 22, 2020, “A Family Poem for the World” grows every day with words, phrases, and sentences written by people from all walks of life. 

To join the project, please email your original word, phrase, or sentence to: [email protected].

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YAY!

. . . and our hearts, breath, and prayer became one . . .

Be the “YES” person!

To have the power to know you’re special

while humble enough not to use power.

Be the “special” in someone’s life.

AWAKEN!

Perhaps God has pushed the reset button

to remind us of what’s important.

Not money, power, or material things, but each other.

Of our many blessings even in dark times,

I’m thankful for technology to help keep us together

while we need to be apart.

SMILE,

it makes the world a brighter place!

We don’t have to be perfect, we just have to be.

Silver lining of life becoming simple, unfrazzled.

MEOW!

Love all.

Serve all.

. . . to be a redeeming presence in the world.

COMFORT!

Love, unity, community.

Sometimes the person you don’t want to talk to

is the very person you need to talk to.

She embraced the suffering world with open arms.

Enduring pain and hardships together

will bind us with love for the rest of our lives.

We work to liberate love.

Que sera, sera.

What will be, will be.

You got this!

BREATHE:

slow;

focus;

exist;

be present.

Feeling my way in the darkness

Pinpricks of light

Squinting, I glimpsed God.

VULNERABILITY!

 . . . be in tune

with thoughts, emotions, wants, needs.

Be a better you

and there will be no end to what we can do.

Be good, do good.

GRATITUDE!

I look up at the stars.

I give thanks to God for putting them there,

and for keeping my family, my community, 

my self safe another day.

I draw in deep breaths of air

and am thankful that I can.

CREATION!

The world created in the still and silence

will again be vibrant and full of color.

At the sunlit eaves of my rib-cage

clouds morph 

in their urgent, timeless instruction

to be here now, and now, and now again.

Life finds a way

in the in-between times.

CONNECTION!

One day, we will all be stardust.

Do unto others

as you would have them

do unto you.

Luke 6:31.

We are equals.

Good humans connected

in a new, different way,

seeking solutions and working together

to keep our loved ones and neighbors

safe.

The titles that matter most

are not related to our jobs:

Mom

Dad

Sister

Brother

Daughter

Son

Aunt

Uncle

Grandmother

Grandfather

Friend.

LIGHT!

“A single sunbeam is enough

to drive away many shadows.”

Saint Francis of Assisi.

TIME

The earth groaned.

A Voice resounded.

We sifted

together

from crevice to crevice.

Hope is alive in every new morning.

COMPASSION!

Always available, not always present.

When we are divided, it doesn’t exist at all.

But in times of trouble, shield your eyes,

look to the horizon.

For compassion is riding in.

Compassion drives out division.

Humanity wins.

NATURE!

I sat and opened my senses

to the cleansing gifts

that nature is always willing to bestow.

Winds wending through tree branches, beguiling.

Cardinal’s distinctive songs.

Sunlight warmly stroking my skin.

Tension evaporated, replaced by gratitude.

A grateful, natural prayer

to what always awaits me.

KINDERGARTEN!

Five and six year olds:

“I’m sad . . .”

“I’m happy . . .”

“I’m mad . . .”

“I’m hungry.”

What is one word you would say to the world?

“Healthy.”

“No.”

“Love.”

“Happy.”

What brings you joy?

“Talking to teachers everyday!”

“Toys!”

“Mario and Luigi!”

“Therapy!”

F-R-I-E-N-D-S!

Amazing

Loving

Loyal

Incredible

Encouraging

I’ll be there for you!

NOW!

Go inward, cocoon, discover.

Break free of old

and fly

to your wondrous NOW!

DARKNESS

The darkness always promises

the brightest light.

When life gets scary and hard,

choose to be a ray of light.

PAUSE . . .

PRIORITIZE . . .

EMPATHY: 

a blessing, a curse, feeling every hope and fear

vulnerable, but grateful

worried, but faithful

a spinning wheel of emotion

we are human

we are love

we are strong

together.

FAMILY!

Family is . . . connection, time, and balance.

Family is . . . laughter, tears, and joy.

Family is . . . humility, grace, and courage.

Family is . . . giving, receiving, and sharing.

Family is . . . truth, transparency, and respect.

Family is . . . the power of unconditional love.

STORMS!

I can’t stop the rain

nor the storm clouds

but

I

can

adjust

my focus.

Together is better.

I can stop the tears

and see beauty in the storms

as

I

breathe

hope

to the world.

RESTLESS SOUL

Mercy, Compassion, and Presence

from above

calm our restless soul

and fill our heart

with Love and Hope.
 

JOYS!

We can still greet the simplest of joys,

lying on a patch of green,

watching the clouds cavort . . .

Join hands whoever you may be.

We are all of this world you see.
 

AMEN!

FORGIVENESS?

A learned art

of letting go,

of loving . . .

of listening,
of looking back in step
with moving forward, of healing,
humility.

(To be continued . . . Stay Tuned!)

About the Project:

A FAMILY POEM FOR THE WORLD is an exclusive participatory collaboration between Harvard-trained educator, author, artist, and advocate John Schlimm and his publisher Familius—whose brand and mission are built upon the foundation of helping families and folks everywhere to be happy by creating works that teach, inspire, and bring people together. Working with the billions of beautiful voices across the globe, A FAMILY POEM FOR THE WORLD combines the impactful and healing forces of words and creativity—along with this rare and challenging moment in time—to capture both the blessings and the true essence of what it means to be alive. 
 

To create A FAMILY POEM FOR THE WORLD, words, phrases, and single sentences are being sourced by Familius and John Schlimm in numerous ways, including via social media (#FamilyPoemForTheWorld), email ([email protected]), and other outlets. By submitting an entry, you consent to Familius sharing and republishing your line as part of this project. John, in collaboration with Familius, is then compiling and editing the contributed quotes into A FAMILY POEM FOR THE WORLD, which for the foreseeable future will be a living, breathing, ever-evolving and transforming piece of writing that can exist and be enjoyed during its ongoing stages of creation by readers anytime on a landing page within Familius.com.

While the project will be open to everyone to participate, A FAMILY POEM FOR THE WORLD is an especially appealing activity for parents to enjoy at home with their children, and for teachers and librarians to remotely share with students and other folks. These ripples of hope in its purest form will begin with you and radiate from there.
 

About John Schlimm:

John Schlimm is a Harvard-trained educator, artist, advocate, and the award-winning author of 20 books, including his first children's book, The Star Jumped Over the Moon, which will be published by Familius in 2021. In addition to "A Family Poem for the World," he is also the creator of such Participatory Art projects as THE SMILE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours), Planting PEACE / #5dayPEACEchallenge, A Garden of Kindness, and Text COMPASSION. For more information about John and his projects, or to connect with him on social media, please visit: www.JohnSchlimm.com.