The Company You Keep:
The folk that linger at the periphery,
Failing to engage or share a kind thought unless it is to –
Contradict,
Berate,
Talk down,
Belittle,
Virtue signal,
Sneer,
Flagellate,
Corrupt,
Rant,
Rave,
Exclude,
Break empathy,
Lack compassion,
Or to break down your spirit.
Regardless of whether self-aware or not…
Are they even friends?
Or just more chaff in the endless golden fields of wheat?
Are you seeking Elysium?
Eden?
To dance wildly in the hanging gardens of Babylon?
Sing out towards the cascades of rain outside your windows?
Watersprite, creature, human, soul…
Life can be so much more.
Compassion can grow so much more.
Empathy can lift so much more.
Kindness can empower so much more.
If some folk linger at the periphery…
And fail eternally to show you love,
Choose to tear down, instead.
What are they adding to your life?
Even if they host a heart meandering towards the right place,
Slow enough to grow moss, yet quickly enough to sow harm,
It’s not you.
It could never be.
It’s simply the company you choose to keep.
