Diplomacy and Hypocrisy

 

 

 

Diplomacy and hypocrisy

A thin line in between

And when it comes to yours truly,

I wonder whither which scene.

 

Now please do not get me wrong

Concerning the matter of tact,

Most often it is needed

And not that “in the face slap”.

 

But when it comes to me

It feels a little hypocritical,

Especially when engaging the elderly

I just don’t feel capable.

 

I don’t what to hurt their feelings

Though they need to hear the truth

So, I pretend to be at fault

And withhold that vital proof.

 

Sometimes dealing with older folk

You can get into a “to and fro”

In which they stem your every word

As if they really don’t know.

 

You are absolutely sure

That they are absolutely wrong

But you do not want the stemming

When they argue wrong and strong.

 

So, you decide to play along

For fear of being stemmed,

I truly regard this as hypocrisy

And I am surely in that realm.

 

“You look good,”

You may say to someone

When you definitely know it’s not,

Hypocrisy is the trap you set

And in your trap you got caught.

 

“But that’s a lie,” you’ll contend,

And you are absolutely right,

But I do not want to hurt that one

So, I avoid and diffuse the fight.

 

 

Diplomacy and hypocrisy

Where do I draw the line?

Tell me, where can I be consistent?

That is, if you have the time.

 

I do not need convincing

I am already convinced

But it is just that I am not prepared

To be viewed as an offense.

 

Some display diplomacy

But are downright hypocrites,

So, before I reach that point

Maybe, it is time I quit.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2020