Tag Archives: poems about life

Poem About Evil and Destruction in the World

Posted on by under Poetry 
When tragedy and evil strike that have been caused by humans, we realize we're still capable of some really bad stuff. And we're not nearly as good as we think we are; the evil is just hidden under superficial goodness.

Winding Down

There is no sense in denying
that the path of humanity
doesn't rise in glory,
climbing up into the clouds of heaven.

It winds like a clock,
giving the appearance of advances
only to consume its own hands 
like the ancient serpent devouring its tail.

And after we've become enchanted
by assuming the gears and wheels of the clock 
are beyond the need of routine maintenance,
somehow we are shocked by the silence 

when the feet of humanity 
quit marching forward,
when the hands of time halt,
and we horrifyingly discover

we have revolved right back 
to the beginning of time,
dealing with the same destructive tendencies
we were sure we'd left behind.

Justin Farley


Link to my poetry books on Amazon

The Town Mouse and Country Mouse Love Poem

Posted on by under Poetry 
The Town Mouse and Country Mouse

I was in love with the country,
and she, in love with the city.
We were in love with each other
but were split by the hand of destiny.

She preferred nights on the town
and I, counting country stars.
We woke up side-by-side each morning,
yet the distance between our lives was far.

For what did I know about hailing taxis?
Or her, about forest pines?
Though we surely knew each other's hearts,
our paths were never aligned.

I was alone with the country
and she, alone with the city.
In love but living separate lives
inevitably led to tragedy.

Justin Farley

Happiness is Fleeting A Poem About Being Content with Life

Posted on by under Poems On Nature, Poetry 
Happiness is Fleeting

If happiness is your goal
you'll never be whole.
Always be rolling on a raging river
of emotion completely out of control.

For happiness is fleeting, receding like the waters
on a creek bank after a storm,
never even warned that the moment 
one desire is fulfilled a new one is born.

Seek to make contentment your aim.
For it's constant through the winds of change;
its heat still warms the soul
though the fire's flame waxes and wanes.

For contentment accepts life as it is.
Realizes there's as much to be grateful
for in pain as in bliss.
Discontentment always follows happiness.

Justin Farley

Climbing Mountains Poem About Living Out Your Dreams

Posted on by under Poetry 
Climbing Mountains
A Poem About Living Out Your Dreams and Believing in Yourself

The road rose in the distance
insistent on wrapping around
the towering mountain like twine.
At its feet stood a shrine
dedicated to the drowsy dreamer,
the tired thinker, the sleepy schemer
who had journeyed all this way
only to have disbelief poison the mind.

And yet doubt wasn't left behind
in even the faithful and courageous traveler
who had begun the climb.
For the apex stood painfully high;
the road wound for miles
surrounded by ledges where dreams fall and die.

Victory is only tasted
by the dreamer who doesn't look back
and doesn't get offtrack
by looking too far forward.
But who is purposeful in their impact
right here, right now
perfectly content in the present moment.
One step after another
feeling the ground beneath their feet,
faithfully carrying their dream on their shoulders
until their vision is realized and complete.

The future is only actualized
by those who realized eons ago
that the future is bound by
the way we carry ourselves in the present.
It's what we learn during the ascent
that makes the climb worth doing;
never in the need for recognition and achievement.

Wake up, you drowsy dreamer!
Rouse yourself from your delusions!
Shake yourself from the critics illusions
and the conclusion that you'll never find your way!
For the journey begins and ends
the way we begin and close each day.

Justin Farley

Poem About Life Journey and Inner Peace – Adventure

Posted on by under Personal Development, Poetry, Recovery, Spirituality 
Adventure
Poem About Life Journey and Inner Peace

 Adventures never have destinations.
It's experience that gives us what we need to find.
Leave the need for answers and your expectations
behind you, unpacked from your mind.

Modern life has lost its sense of mystery.
The need to know shatters our sense of awe.
To live out your true purpose and destiny
recognize that, at times, reason can be a flaw.

Don't ask me to explain love.
Or the chemicals released when I look in her eyes.
It's beyond what the human mind can conceive of,
lifeless facts that'll never explain what the heart testifies.

We must stop seeking adventure "out there";
true adventure is a journey of the heart.
The calling to discover, to dare
is where inner freedom starts.

Justin Farley

Sandcastles Poem About Hardships in Life

Posted on by under Poetry 
Sandcastles
Poem About Hardships in Life

The weariness of life is enough
to make even the watchman tired.
His heavy eyelids close with each
complexity of life that breaches the palace gates.
There he waits until all he aspired
for crumbles beneath the harsh realities of life
like the sandcastles he built as a boy,
cold, green, frothy ocean 
dashing all his work in one motion
jeering as the tide drags
even what was repairable back out to sea.

Who puts out the fire
when the ivory tower erupts in flames?
Who mops up the childhood pain
that we slip on time and time again?
The oldest wounds never seeming to mend
because, like a cut on a joint, each time we bend
beneath life's weight that weeping wound
cracks back open, raw once more.

There's no way to bar every door.
There's no way to lock tight every window.
Misfortune's finding a way in even though
we believe we've created an impenetrable castle.
Life will always have its burdens;
they're still tough to bear
even with solid walls around you.
But we choose whether to build
our castles on the sand
or fortify them on the rocks.

Justin Farley

When Sorrow Comes – A Poem

Posted on by under Poems On Nature, Poetry, Recovery, Spirituality 
When Sorrow Comes

I'm old enough now
and have lived through
enough winters to know
that as you begin reaping joy
sorrow already begins to grow.

This life promises many harvests
but one crop it's certain to sow - 
that beyond the warmth of summer
comes the cold, winter snow.

It's not about protecting yourself
from the pangs of life
but what you trust in
when the harsh winds blow.

For I'm old enough now
and have lived through
enough winters to know
that after joy
sorrow will follow.

Justin Farley

Hello, everyone! I have recently published my first chapbook of Christian poems titled “A Voice in the Wilderness – A Chapbook of Poems about God”. This has been developed and polished over the past six months or so. I am happy with the final product and hope you find encouragement in the poems but also a validation that the spiritual life is not all sunshine and rainbows. We all struggle. We all have periods of questions and/or doubt. But it is the yearning that keeps us coming back for more and allows us to experience joy.
You can purchase either on Amazon or on my own bookstore (it is cheaper and has free shipping on my store) and is available on the Kindle and in paperback.
Amazon: Kindle Paperback
Inkspiration Books (my bookstore): Paperback
Thank you for your support!

Poem About Being Human, Making Mistakes, and Growing Old

Posted on by under Poetry

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We’re Only Human

The older we get
the less certain we are of absolutes.
But one thing we’re absolutely certain of
is our flawed, human nature.
When we’re children we yearn
for the day we’ll have all the answers,
when we’ll no longer feel scared or vulnerable,
and when we’ll stop making stupid mistakes.
Until we grow old and realize
that’s what it means to be human.

Poem Written by Justin Farley

You can find some of my other poetry by clicking here 

Inspirational Poem About Life Journey and Success One Step At A Time

Posted on by under Personal Development, Poetry

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One Step At A Time – An Inspirational Poem About Life Journey

A spiral, wooden staircase
reaches up like crooked branches –
oak fingers, determined to touch the sky.

Stairs with ornate, hand-carved railings
make way for impossible feats and give
wingless creatures a chance to fly.

And I stand humble before them,
wondering where they lead
and how high they climb.

A thousand steps is too many,
but one at a time seems possible
if I keep my head level and eyes blind.

Every journey begins distant –
hard, unfathomable, unimaginable,
while peering across the sands of time.

But complacency is a curse
that stands ready with force
to defend comfort in the battle of the mind.

Life is one continuous climb.
Each day one step closer to
the potential written in your heart.

No need for giant leaps
or desperate measures destined for defeat,
but you must find somewhere to start.

Progress comes to those who push onward,
planting seeds even when tired
and a day off is a tempting reward.

For excuses quickly become reasons
to idly watch months go by
without a step forward.

It’s the small choices you make
compounded over a lifetime
that leave you in the plains or push you to the peak.

At the end of life’s journey,
the number of seeds you’ve sown
determines the character you reap.

-Poem Written by Justin Farley

About the Poem

I think we all have a place where we are and a place in our mind where we want to be. The gap between those two places can be overwhelming and cause many struggles along our life journey. Personally, I have the struggle with feast or famine – I’m either all in and try to drastically alter everything in my life overnight or feel defeated by how many changes I know I need to make and do nothing.

Life is similar to a spiral staircase that leads up to who we want to be and our idea of success. You don’t reach the top by quick sprints or you’re bound to get burnt out and tired. I have the temptation to try to change my big life struggles right away, but those can only be overcome with work and time. The way to the top comes by doing the small things right everyday and making good choices in the small decisions. Small baby steps everyday accumulate into major growth in our life journey over weeks, months, and years. Small steps prevent us from becoming too overwhelmed and inspire us to keep going during life’s struggles. One day at a time, one step at a time, we will reach our life goals and everyday move closer to who we want to be and further away from who we are.

Where are you right now in life?

Where do you want to be or what is the difference between your “ideal” self and who you are now?

What small steps can you do everyday to put you closer to achieving your goals in life?

The journey in life is never easy, but keeping your progress small, manageable, and attainable snowballs into drastic change over time.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy my similar poem,“Today”, which is about inspiring change in your life and taking the first step in your life journey.