We need to be respectful
of tender psyches, mental illness,
all the agonies of existence.
We need to be respectful
of our own tenderness
and pained existence.
When being gentle of their tender troubles,
makes aches worse for ourselves,
who needs to respect whom?
Draw battle lines,
or at least find a bastion
against cries
calling you to your destruction,
dragging you to drown in the moat of their fragility.
Be respectful of your own precious sanity.
Usually
I have patience to tolerate
your negative energy.
I can listen to your whining
self-indulgence
without comment.
I can ignore your
ignorance, and gently
try to inform you.
But right now,
my world is a storm
of negativity, raining from
despots, thieves, and liars
who have too much power over my life.
I am holding up a very small umbrella
to hold off the stress.
If you blow that negative air at me,
you will turn my umbrella inside out
and so you’ll excuse me
if I leave you
standing in the rain
by yourself.
Shawn L. Bird 