"This Isn't The End" | Spoken Word Poem
A poem about the best day of my life
At the start of the year I was blessed to get to attend SEEK 20261 in Denver, Colorado.
There are truly no words to describe how impactful that experience was for me.
It was by far the most epic and beautiful thing I’ve experienced in the Catholic Church, so far.
As I shared with my small group during our last dinner together, the entire trip was a “God moment” for me.
Perhaps I’ll attempt to share more at some point in the future, but for now, all I can say is that I’ll remember and cherish those five days for the rest of my life.
During my time at SEEK, I received an outpouring of the Father’s love and parts of my heart that had begun to harden over the years have now begun to soften.
And with that, a new level of creative freedom has been unlocked.
On day four of the conference, after purchasing a beautiful painting of Mother Mary, I was hit with a lightning bolt of inspiration to write a poem.
So I made my way back to my hotel room as fast as possible and started writing.
Line by line, as I took deep, slow breaths, I invited the Holy Spirit and Momma Mary to guide my words.
And line by line, the words poured out of me and onto the pages in my handy-dandy notebook.2
I only had 30 minutes before I was supposed to meet up with my group for dinner, but I knew that it would be just enough time.
Not because I’m such a great writer, but because I could feel the presence of God in the room with me.
Sure enough, some tears were shed, and 30 minutes later, I had a poem.
The poem is titled, “This Isn’t The End.”
I hope you enjoy reading it (or listening to it) as much as I enjoyed writing it.
“This Isn’t The End” | Spoken Word Poem
I used to love without fear.
I used to look at the world with pure awe and wonder.
I used to live as if I would live forever.
The world was my oyster,
And the Lord of the cosmos was somehow my Father.
But then one day, something happened.
And the colors dimmed,
And the music dulled,
And my heart began to harden.
The fear took over,
The lies grew louder,
And the days got darker.
Days turned into weeks,
Weeks turned into months,
Months turned into years,
And years turned into… more time than I’d like to admit.
I fell deeper and deeper and deeper
into the pit of despair.
But then one day, everything changed.
At the bottom of the pit,
When I saw no way out,
I cried out to God,
Ready to give up,
But instead, I gave it to Him.
Arms outstretched,
I begged Him to help me.
And in that moment,
A man named Jesus showed up.
And He told me,
“This isn’t the end.”
That day was the best day of my life.
That day was the first day of the rest of my life.
Because on that day, I was reminded of who I really am.
And after that day, my life didn’t get perfect.
But since that day,
I’ve been learning how to live as if I’ll live forever, again.
I’ve been learning how to look at the world with pure awe and wonder, again.
I’ve been learning how to love without fear, again.
And the colors have brightened,
And the music has sharpened,
And my heart,
My heart has begun to soften.
Thank you for reading.
Truly, I’m glad you’re here.
And if you’re currently going through a dark season, if you’re struggling to find a reason to keep going, if you’re tempted to give up on life…
Please check out this site.
Nothing to sell you, I promise.
I’m just a man who’s been there before, and wants you to know that you’re not alone. That there is hope. And that your life is worth living, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Keep going…
This isn’t the end.
Watch my YouTube video for this poem:
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SEEK is a massive, annual five-day Catholic Conference for young adults. This year there were over 26,000 attendees at SEEK across three locations.
Shout out to Steven Foster for the Field Notes notebook recommendation.
Beautiful and Brilliant Stefano. I had my breath taken away at that single line, "this isn't the end". Looking forward to reading you as you continue on your journey.
Love this, man.
I know when I reverted back to the faith many years ago, Jesus' call to me was gentle, very similar to "This isn't the end."