#MindfulnessMondays: Today’s poem, “Don’t Listen to Them,” comes from Talib, one of the poets in “The Untold Story of the Real Me: Young Voices from Prison.” I was particularly taken by the following lines:

“They say a positive mind is contagious
So spread the disease”

I can’t even imagine all that Talib has seen and experienced in his young life and find his advice to “keep your mind positive” worth taking to heart this Monday morning.

For a copy of Talib’s poem see below.

Subscribe to the #TeachingwithHeart Blog by 4/17 and be entered to win an autographed copy of “The Untold Story of the Real Me” for Talib’s poem and many other poems and personal essays.

Thanks to Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop​ for generously donating a copy of the book for our #Book Giveaway and especially for their efforts on behalf of young men like Talib.

Don’t Listen to Them

— Talib

In this world where negativity plays a role in your life
Keep your focus on the things that’s good
When someone approaches you with words that are not nice
If you have an ambition to go after a goal
That you think you can achieve
Set your goal and you must believe
Keep your mind positive because you are what you think
And know that you can leave a legacy
That can stain like a pen when it releases ink
They say a positive mind is contagious
So spread the disease
You can become whatever you want to be
All you have to do is believe