Don’t hit. Don’t stab.
Don’t fight. Don’t grab.
Don’t force a person past the line
that they draw in the sand.
Don’t bash. Don’t break.
Don’t more tears make.
Don’t push a person past the time
they’ll quietly withstand.
Don’t strike. Don’t yearn
to “make them learn.”
Don’t show a person that it’s fine
to feel your back of hand.
Don’t hurt. Don’t hate.
Don’t tempt. Don’t bait.
Don’t drive a person to a crime
that they had never planned.
--AJG 2024