FRIDAY THOUGHTS: POETRY PROMPT

DISCRETION 

We place stuff on a public shelf

That should be kept inside a drawer

Behind securely bolted doors

Stuff for our eyes alone.

We put stuff in a hostile space 

That shouldn’t be shared anyplace 

Things that bring ridicule; disgrace

Then we argue and moan—

About how “they” don’t understand 

And skew the latest tea, at hand

And then, we actually demand

That they, promptly, butt out.

We justify, and we defend

We spin, and spin, and spin, and spin

Are mad they put their two-cents in

And then commence to pout

And say THEY’RE missing the context

Should “wrap it up”;

Stop talking—NEXT!

Just ignore all the messy mess

They would NEVER have known

Had we not been, so desperately 

Seeking allies; community

To take our sides, in stuff that WE

So hastily have sown.

We pray they ignore what they saw

Pretend they saw nothing at all!

Imply they have no wherewithal 

To reason on their own

We say they have no right to judge

No right to think; no right to nudge

And ask WHAT were we thinking of

Shouldn’t we have known

What would happen when the truth

Escaped the confines of our rooms

Courtesy of our failure to

Contain what we condone?

But here’s a thought: Perhaps, if we’d 

Remember, that our words and deeds

Have no better guarantee

Of being safe, than if we’d 

Take them OFF the public shelf

And, think about what grandmas said

As they gently patted our heads:

“If you don’t want your business spread 

Just keep it to yourself”.

-VRWc2025

#discretion

#wisdom

#publicdiscourse

#socialmedia

#fridaythoughts