SATURDAY THOUGHTS: POETRY PROMPT----HINDSIGHT

You removed every guardrail

Thought it would dissuade them

Tossed aside what they shared

Refused to engage them

Said they wouldn't fit in

Warned your friends not to call

Not to bother to aid

Not to choose them at all

You stood at every door

Undermined every task

Blocked each pathway while wearing

A welcoming mask

Made them think they were wrong

Unprepared; unequipped

And when they sought advice

You chose to be tight-lipped

‘Til you saw them outside

On a playground you felt

They’d never enjoy

It was for someone else 

You saw them embraced

Saw them doing just fine

Realized every effort to sway; undermine

Had failed miserably

What will you say, now?

What new scheme will you hatch?

What revenge will you vow?

Now, you smile in their faces

Drop their names with such flair

As if you as a friend 

Hasn't been a nightmare

Act as if you’re so proud 

You just want to keep tabs

But you can’t say out loud

Why you’re worried and mad

You waited for them 

To adopt your crude ways

To swipe, knock, and criticize

Retaliate—

Spend all their days

Building weapons of war

Transform into something 

They've not been before

But they never did

All they wanted, was peace

A safe place to exist

Where oppression would cease

But your greed and ambition

Your need to exclude

Your penchant to dominate

Your attitude

Governed how you treated 

Those you felt you don't need

How you wish they were here, now

To take the lead

To tackle the magnitude

Of what ensued

When unexpected storms

Violent and rude

Showed you what it feels like

To be battered and torn

Bewildered, frightened 

And left to mourn

One day you’ll realize the futility 

Of always competing; being insecure 

Of not really knowing 

Never being sure

Perhaps one day, give what you expect

Learn that being respectful 

Might earn you respect

Learn that being humane

Is a much better choice

Tables do turn, you know

Cries of help from your voice

Aren’t different than the cries 

You so often ignored

Perhaps, today you see 

What you couldn't before