Honesty

Honesty’s doing nothing you’re ashamed
To talk of; otherwise you’re being gamed
By a smooth angel with a cloven shoe.
Man, know thyself; to thine own self be true;
Accept you’re not some other one’s ideal
From their religion or philosophy;
Accept your thoughts are yours, impure and real
With lust, greed, envy, anger, vanity -
Normal in that we’re powered by an ape’s drive
That needed those traits to survive and thrive.
Whether you act on them’s different again.
Do nothing that, if done, would make you lie -
But don’t be shamed you’ve had the thoughts within.
Don’t stifle, don’t suppress, and don’t deny.
Acknowledge, but don’t act. In that’s no sin.

Robin Helweg-Larsen

If you have any comments on this poem,  Robin Helweg-Larsen  would be pleased to hear from you.