Wise Words Poem by Jojoba Mansell

Spoken to me by friends,
whispered by my family.
Offered by passing acquaintances,
given freely by strangers.
Opinions and advice shoal tightly,
my head their ocean.
Counsel and recommendations flock together,
my heart their open sky.
Suggestions and guidance are planted like seeds,
my soul their fertile soil.
Some of the shoal perish,
lost in the crushing deep.
Most of the flock are lost,
borne away by cyclonic winds.
The bulk of the seeds don't germinate,
planted too shallowly and burnt by the sun.
But some of the shoal survive,
and swim in calmer waters.
A few of the flock survive,
roosting out of the winds fierce grasp.
A handful of seeds grow,
mighty oaks rising tall in good earth.
Wise words,
spoken to me by friends,
whispered by my family.
Offered by passing acquaintances.
given freely by strangers.