“There was never an angry man who thought his anger was unjust.”**

And who can judge the circumstances into which the man was thrust?

Are his motivations pure or are they filled with ill contempt?

Does it matter if he’s young? Or if he’s old, is he exempt

From every social standard used to weigh man’s heart, bad or good?

Will you be the arbiter? The executioner ‘neath the hood?

Fools don’t suffer fools to pass, so where are they to go?

If a beast is cornered, scared, it will not just kowtow.

Play with bulls, you’ll get their horns. Play with fire, get burned,

Is a bull at fault for harming? Should fire not be unconcerned?

If your actions spur another’s, are their actions then your fault?

Keep your mouth shut, zip it closed, then throw the key into the vault.

Can it possibly be right to harm another in revenge?

Must you part ways enemies, or can you agree to be friends?

Whose anger, then, is unjust? And who or what decides?

Love can usually unify but hate always divides.

Bring your anger, bring your hate, and bring your judgements too,

Gather up your emotions, as a King does his retinue.

Loose yourself or tighten up, does anybody care?

Who gets good luck, who gets bad? Is life always to be unfair?

Justify your actions thus, the fault is never yours.

For hate and loathing never count, wars are only wars.

I can hate and I can fight, and I get to be grim,

A woman can, a man cannot; her but never him.

Is one side good, one side bad — a blank line to fill in?

Stories can change drastically if told by the villain.

Peace or war, hatred or love, agitate or rejoice.

We are only as good as our most abhorrent choice.

Coach yourself, be ‘good people,’ spread love, not hate, today.

Be mindful of your words, thoughts, and the actions that you display.

Speak as friends to all you meet, even to nemeses,

For if all loved their neighbors, there would exist NO ENEMIES.

** “The Ciphers of Muirwood” by Jeff Wheeler