> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.tom-shaw.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Why Bother? - URL: https://www.tom-shaw.uk/why-bother/ - Published: 2024-07-29T08:00:44.000Z - Updated: 2024-07-29T08:00:44.000Z - Description: A poem from a dark place that became light once more. - Author: Tom Shaw - Tags: Poems, #substack, #substack-type-newsletter, #substack-access-everyone, #Import 2026-10-24 12:50 [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) --- Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedI still feel like that kid sometimes, wandering aimlessly amongst labyrinthine uni corridors, missing the obliviousness from before I went and bit the apple, unconscious of [the corruption](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/nightmares/) across democracy, schools, health and life. And in the seas of faceless crowds, leashed along by their Big Brother, I catch a glimpse of [ignorant bliss](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/sorry-i-must-have-forgotten/), [reflected from their screens](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/the-revolution-was-already-televised/) of black. Lost, I ask myself: why bother? I still feel like that kid sometimes, watching the streets I lived on die like plants sprayed with glyphosate. Poisons in the monocultures on overworked fields, in [overworked minds](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/it-was-no-accident/), Poisons in the [factory lines](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/production-line-sonnet/) of [fake food](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/a-finely-processed-delicacy/) and [fake medicine](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/medicine-men/). Ballots spoiled by the WEF such that voting for change brings none. The restaurants I loved have all gone bust, an empty shop left like a pothole or a rotten stump of a torn-down tree. Lost, I ask myself: why bother? I still feel like that kid sometimes, wandering aimlessly around school playgrounds, haunting grounds. I’ve no desire to play their games but in my own game I am alone. One by one I fobbed off friends, one by one I broke hearts harder [than a third Covid jab ever could](https://randpaulreview.substack.com/p/pfizer-being-sued-thanks-to-major). [Seeded clouds](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/final-gambit/) bring a blizzard that would hide my body, should I let my life be lost to its cold. Lost, I ask myself: why bother? I still feel like that kid sometimes, who [ran away from all he knew](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/black-dog/), and let himself get caught just so he could feel the exhilaration again. Until, I became desensitised, even to that depressing high. I took a rope, tied a noose, and leapt from a branch – but feet touched back on the earth of hell; one belonging to Lucifer’s minions that try to claw all goodness from me. Lost, I ask myself: why bother? Why fucking bother? Why even bother asking why to bother? There’s nothing left here for that kid, the one who roamed the crags and cliffs overjoyed, with friends who chased and played games amongst the thickets, with [nature’s bounty feeding us](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/haikus-of-a-forager/) regardless of the time of year. Brandishing bilberries and blackberries, nourishing our laughing bellies. A graze or scrape or cut was but a minor obstacle; one overcome by a dose of fun and youthful being. Why bother feeling sorry for myself? Well, maybe something’s here for that kid, the one who took [all his heartstrings](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/born-anew-994/) and re-strung-up a discarded guitar so his aching love could be heard in song. Whether he played solo or together, it only mattered that the frequencies (to which he was acutely attuned to, but too hard to put into words alone) could be released in a form all knew and reciprocated with gratitude and awe. And music’s kick is but one spice of life. Why bother feeling sorry for myself? No, there *is* something here for that kid, the one who had Wordsworth wander into his soul on one English class. Followed soon after by Percy Shelley, he discovered that feelings could be voiced. There’s irony there: that a dead school system, [from a dead empire](https://tom-shaw.uk/from-a-dying-empire-near-you/?ref=tom-shaw.uk) made to make slaves, could set a child’s mind dangerously free, breaking the carefully mind-forged manacles just in time for the truth’s reveal. Now sovereignty is in everyone’s reach, why bother feeling sorry for myself? And there’s something here for me, too. I have seen Gaia break through the haze to bless me with those warm sun-rays as I tread once-toxic wasteland recovering through new green growth. And though we find our tribes fractured, [the sacred loop of generations](https://overtotheyouth.com/?ref=tom-shaw.uk) broken, I’m finding I can take a cutting and begin [regrowing all the roots](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/the-fruits-of-our-labour/) to tap into source; our divine spirits. When I know there are so many like me, why bother feeling sorry for myself? Why fucking bother? Why even bother asking why to bother? ###### Why Bother? - A Poem by Tom Shaw --- *Music:* [*Brylie Christopher Oxley - Melancholy Aura*](https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Brylie%5FChristopher%5FOxley/neither-and-both/melancholy-aurora/?ref=tom-shaw.uk) --- This poem began life as a personal assignment from [David Cordes’ Journey Home course](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/authentic-expression-with-david-cordes/), but it took weeks after the conclusion of that course to be able to finally bring this all together. Really, this is a poem for me, and a reminder for the times I allow myself to slip into despair. It is a poem to help [shift my frame back to the universe conspiring to do good for me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJHyFdWQvwI&ref=tom-shaw.uk) \- and not to do bad. As such, I see this as a fitting conclusion to some of the themes opened up in [“Why I Write”](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/why-i-write/) and [“Who Am I Writing For?”](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/who-am-i-writing-for/), and one that I am very proud to have here with you today. If you feel your life is also in need of a poetic rewrite to help you find a path forward, I would love to help with that. I offer a one-on-one program, Master Your Word - a guided poetry course helps to re-orient you with your soul essence, equipping you with a linguistic, cognitive and spiritual skillset to help make sense of and resolve whatever trials and tribulations you may find yourself in. If you feel called to this offering, you can find out more and book a free initial exploration using the button below: [Master Your Word](https://tom-shaw.uk/master-your-word/?ref=tom-shaw.uk) Thank you for continuing to support my work. Be sure to share this piece with a friend who you think needs to read it. I look forward to sharing more with you in the future. With gratitude, Tom --- ![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/38cb9dda-4264-4a53-8160-9694aa24d586_640x640.jpg) [Subscribe](#/portal/signup)