Working through the 227 Rules For Monks.
Who knew the simple life could be so complex.
Nice Shoes
1
I don’t compliment
unless I mean it
a compliment is not flirting
a compliment is not a threat
a compliment is not a come on
is not another condescending
patriarchal comment
based on cultural imposed definitions
of what is pretty
handsome
acceptable
2
I don’t compliment
it gets quickly misunderstood
misrepresented
one never knows
what damage the other person is carrying
sometimes nice smile
triggers the weight of history
nice hair
becomes inappropriate
3
I am leery of a compliment
it often has an agenda
of not-so-subtle manipulation
after all they like your poem
so it’s only fair
you read their unpublished manuscript
to decline turns the compliment
to a complaint
about some poets being
full of themselves
4
I’d rather be full of myself
than build a sense of worth
on empty compliments
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