Barbados Today

Dear Lord, you know I struggle
with life’s choices day by day.
My decisions sometimes shame me
By the things I do and say.
I look around and realize
that I am not alone.
Civility, like courtesy,
has all but up and gone.
I see it in the roadways;
I see it in the mall;
in not so subtle gestures
and in the names we call.
We’re always in a hurry
with our tensions running high.
If anyone gets in our way,
we roll our eyes and sigh.
And when we’ve really had it,
the smoke rolls from our ears
and everyone who hears us
is either angry or in tears.
Annoyance is sometimes justified,
but it’s a lame excuse
to rant and rave and curse
and point the finger of accuse.
So when I’m on the roadways
or when I’m in the mall,
if I look right past you,
I’m not really mad at all.
I’m just a struggling sinner
who is trying to atone.
My lips are zipped;
my ears are plugged.
I’m better off alone.
— Linda Gleason