Do Not Pretend to Know

where you got
the good and the evil
the right and the wrong
the black and the white

where you got
the knowledge and the wisdom
the ability to choose
and to force the choice

where you got
the idea that it was simple
that the line was cut
by a straight pair of shears

where you learned
that the dead are the only good
that all the living are intent
on razing every tree

what you found
when you really took a look
when you heard the voices
of many saying all the wrong things

what you will do
when your wisdom doesn’t apply
when the lines become jagged
and you teeter over each edge

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©Abigail Siegel, 2023

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Author note: I wrote this in response to everything. You know what I mean.