DEVOTION

Devotion is hard for some to understand
It means being there when others need a hand,
It’s not just a notion you feel
It means more and shows that your love is real,
Too many people say it is too loosely today
Not knowing what it means to do what you say,
You say one thing but mean another
You lie to not just yourself but to each other,
Your loyalty will be tested
And if you’re not strong you will be bested,
Back in the day a man’s word was his bond
But it’s no more than a lie today and beyond,
When upheld right, Devotion,
Can break down mountains and cross oceans.
(c)William Jacobs
Barrigada, Guam

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Do your best
In all that you say
In all that you do
To make your life worth living
To make a difference in the lives of others.

Realize that you're important to someone
And your genuine help from the kindness of your heart
To pick up others when the odds are stacked up against them
Gives them hope when they have none.

Remember…
If you help out others with no expectations in return
Then your life will be enriched with abundant goodness
And perhaps one day someone will be there for you too.

Living life right
Sacrificing even it hurts so much
Taking on meaningful challenges that may stab your heart a bit at times
All the while striving to be on the side with one's angel
Whom absorbs the goodness of your beautiful soul
Enables you to live a life that matters.

Keeping up the faith
Working as brothers and sisters
To make this world a better place
Moves a nation and heals our souls -
Tis the power of unity!

Remember that beauty is not dependent on your looks or wealth
But who you are deep within -
A remarkable and beautiful person filled with so much love to spread
Filled with inspirational momentum
To help others because you truly do care
Because you know it's the right thing to do
To make a difference!

And though you're hurting
Though your life is filled with strife that strikes your gentle soul
Sometimes you have to let things go even if you’re hurting deep inside.
You have to release your hold
And let things be
Because maybe it was never meant to be.

Sometimes you have to realize that you can’t take things for granted
Because when you least expect it
What you thought you had can be suddenly stolen
As if someone pulled the carpet fast from under your feet.

You have to hold your head up high even if you would rather cry.
You see, life can be very cruel
And it won’t get any better
Unless you move on with your life
Cut your losses
Invest in hope and faith
And with each day you’ll get stronger, and stronger, and stronger…

Grasp and gain the strength from deep within and trust in God
To live a life that makes a difference -
Tis the wonderful gift of life!
So join me, if you will and
Let's live a life that matters
Because together…
We can make a difference!
©mnrivera
Tamuning, Guam

INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE: Together, We Can Make A Difference!!

A Special Message from the Academy of American Poets

Dear Friend, Happy National Poetry Month!  We never imagined when we launched NPM 18 years ago that it would become the largest literary celebration in the world! The Academy of American Poets has a great deal planned for this year’s commemoration. As you can see, we’ve introduced our new look, and later this month will launch the new Poets.org. We’ve distributed thousands of free posters to classrooms around the country and produced a new special project for students: Poet-to-Poet. This April, our goal is to remind tens of millions of individuals of the important place poets have in our culture, inspiring many to continue reading poems year-round. But we need your support to make that possible.

As poetry is taught less and less in schools, we need to do more to help passionate teachers bring poetry into their classrooms. Poet-to-Poet is a multimedia educational project that invites students to watch our Chancellors read a poem, and then write one of their own in response. For teachers, we developed a Common Core-aligned lesson plan to accompany the project. We will be working to raise $25,000 this month to support education projects like Poet-to-Poet. Please donate to help us meet our goal. Every dollar counts – Abrams Books has generously agreed to match every dollar we raise, up to $10,000. That means your donation will have twice the impact. We rely on your donations to produce the high quality materials and resources we make available to students and teachers for free on Poets.org. Over the next 30 days, thousands of poets will give public readings, some will be challenging themselves to write a new poem every day, hundreds of publishers will be releasing new collections of poetry, and thousands of librarians and teachers will be organizing Poem in Your Pocket Day events. You can be a part of National Poetry Month, too, with a gift to support our programs. Donate today. With your help, we will nurture a next generation of poetry readers.

Sincerely, Jennifer Benka Executive Director Academy of American Poets