Poetic Fury

I have a bag of poems
And I'm not afraid to use it.
If I start to get all prosey,
I've been known to really lose it.
I can flex my wordy guns,
I can box your ears with rhymes,
Then I'll slap you with a stanza,
Hit you hard with fifty lines.
Don't you make me use my poems,
coz I'm reaching for one now.
I can bet you're getting worried.
Ow!
Fists are not allowed!

-B.C. Byron

There are many ways to fight and win a battle besides fists and guns. Unfortunately, some nations resort to war and some individuals insist on punching each other in the face to make a point. Some other people win a fight with words (or poems in my case). Some people win a battle by repeating themselves over and over and over until the other side caves in from pure annoyance. You might have experienced this method with a younger sibling. Some will get a bunch of other people who agree with them to form a mob and then follow their enemies around. This also happens online, unfortunately. Some win their battles by researching carefully and then sharing data that supports their point of view while objectively considering other data that might go against their point, but… that way can be tedious.

There are times to fight and make a fuss in life, but they don’t come that often and it usually doesn’t hurt to take a few quiet moments before we respond to something that IS worth fighting about. The fact is, most things we get fired up about are about as ridiculous as this poem, if we really think about it. Zinging someone on social media when they post stuff you don’t like may seem like a win, but the reality is that you’ve done exactly what the poster wanted. We all seem to get caught in that trap now and then. And don’t we feel sheepish two days later when we think about it? Nobody is going to change their mind about something because you sent them a rude meme. Seriously. I think my favorite way to win a battle is by NOT responding. Use this weapon whenever you can. The one who appears too busy to respond to nonsense is the person who makes the strongest point. Take the time you would have spent shouting and posting back to write a poem instead. A hefty smack with a bag of rhymes might be enough to cool things off.