Criticism,
Painful at first blush,
Until you peel away the layers,
Exposing a vulnerable core,
Where some bit of truth lies,
The abrasion is only momentary,
Shallow and unremarkable,
Healing once embraced,
Allowing growth of mind and spirit,
Reinventing that which faltered,
Strengthening all that we are.
~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 
Very cool man!!! Thank you for sharing!
My pleasure, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
What a wonderfully positive spin on an (at times) stinging reality. Thank you for sharing… :)
Thank you very much. Just last week I received some criticism about some of my poems, but instead of taking it badly I decided to view it constructively and try to improve my writing based on the comments. It isn’t always easy, but I think in the long run it will prove to be positive for me.
It is wonderful that you choose to take the criticism as an opportunity for growth while still recognizing that it does sting when we first receive it. Writing requires a very thick skin to accept the criticism from others so you can improve your work. Thank you for sharing this. :)
Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I truly appreciate all of the support you’ve shown me.
How true!! Eloquently penned. Some of the worst criticism has made me grow in unbelievable ways…the ego does like to resist the lessons;)
The ego certainly does like to resist criticism. This is something that I have always had trouble with, but am learning how to accept (gracefully) and use for my betterment. Thank you for taking the time to read my poem. :)
No criticism here. A very well written and insightful piece,
Thank you very much and thank you for the nice compliment.
Nice use of words in developing the message……a refreshing look at criticism…..we all get it, need it to grow but don’t always understand it…..I like your ‘healing’ perspective of it.
Thank you very much, you captured what I was getting at very well. I wrote this based on some criticism that I received, that once I thought about, I realized the person that gave it to me was spot on.