Me Too

I walked back past the lads.
The ones who had
Just polluted my thoughts
Consciously burst into my
Muted unconscious
With aggressively dealt
Indecent proposals.
Obnoxious.
Toxic and territorial
Capped heads
Hooded sartorial
They swaggered as though unbalanced
By drink
Like that justified
Telling me what to think.
I stopped with my son.
I said to him
To hang on
I walked over and asked
Why it was
That in my path
They felt qualified to
Throw an impasse
So derogatory
So crude.
Feigning denial
Both their smiles fell
Eyes hit the floor
Feet shuffled like they were
Probing the ground to open
A trap door
To swallow their pride
And more.
Before
I walked
I said to have a good day
And if I am ever over
This way again
Then
They should not find it necessary
To speak to me
In any way other than
I spoke to them
With kindness
And concern
So they didn’t learn
That was the way to
Earn respect
Or to get what they wanted
Whatever they thought that was
As if they even knew.
And every time
I saw them after that day
Heads up
Eyebrows raised
‘Alright?’
And synchronised nod
To the sky
And my boy has never forgotten why.

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