When I ask you to listen to me <br />And you start giving me advice, <br />You have not done what I asked. <br />When I ask you to listen to me <br />And you begin to tell me why <br />I shouldn’t feel that way, <br />You are trampling on my feelings. <br />When I ask you to listen to me <br />And you feel you have to do something <br />To solve my problem, <br />You have failed me, <br />Strange as that may seem. <br />Listen! All I ask you is listen. <br />Don’t talk or do—just hear me. <br />Advice is cheap <br />And I can do for myself; I am not helpless. <br />Maybe discouraged ad faltering, <br />But not helpless. <br />When you do something that I can <br />And need to do for myself, <br />You contribute to my fear and <br />Inadequacy. <br />But when you accept as a simple fact <br />No matter how irrational, <br />Then I can stop trying to convince <br />You and get about this business <br />Of understanding what’s behind <br />This irrational feeling. <br />And when that’s clear, the answers are <br />Obvious and I don’t need advice. <br />Irrational feelings make sense when <br />We understand what’s behind them. <br />Perhaps that’s why prayer works—because god is mute, <br />And he doesn’t give advice or try <br />To fix things, <br />God just listens and lets you work <br />it out for yourself. <br />So please listen, and just hear me. <br />And if you want to talk, wait a minute <br />For your turn—and I will listen to you.<br /><br />Jessie Swick<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/please-just-listen/
