Kill With Kindness
A Poem by Rich Heller
Picking a fight is easy:
half of humanity is itching
for fisticuffs and gunplay,
and the other can be goaded
with no trouble into anger,
aggression, and violence.
The real challenge
is picking a peace.
So, if you truly want
to flash your alpha
ascendancy, ditch
the cringey machismo
and the adolescent rage
and attack your perceived
enemies with love
and tenderness. This
will better display any
power, courage, and mettle
you’re convinced you have.
And completely floor
the motherfuckers.
Rich Heller writes poetry and songs, gardens with native plants, and watercolors in Pittsburgh. Most of his projects revolve around the marginalized of the Appalachian Plateau and more specifically the Allegheny and Monongahela River watersheds.
