Peace in the Midst of War

Nothing offsets the hate
except time
and truth
and your ability
to trust them both.

About this poem

I get surprisingly little hate, but when I do, it is venomous. That kind of spewing anger, which reminded me so much of my own father when his temper unleashed on me (a fairly regular event when I was young) used to crush me, really until the last few years.

Only once or twice in my life have I fought back. Both times I won, but when the conflict was over, I felt as though I had lost. So today, my tendency is to wait it out and trust who and what I am to talk louder and more eloquently than I can do with words.

It’s hard. It’s really hard. But in the long run, I believe it has worked. And I am way stronger than I used to be. I know if I need to fight… I can.

Today, I thank the haters, for making me that way. I didn’t at the time. But I do now.

Tom