Dear Ex-Social Media Friend,

You reminded me of a Mimosa blossom
delicate and exotic.
We had a casual online acquaintance, 
read each other's stories
& shared them.
You kindly offered advice 
& I was grateful.
I thought well of you & enjoyed
reading your work & your comments
until you began making unkind comments.
I confess, I was astounded.
You had always seemed open-minded
& inclusive, kind & thoughtful.
But I’m realizing more & more
that your charity only extends to those
who think like you & your diversity is applicable 
only between the lines you draw.
It’s especially concerning when I, & others,
have held our tongues for so long
out of respect for different viewpoints. How
I wish you had done the same.
When you blindly & publicly vilify a region, 
a population, a group - you show who you are,
adding even more sadness to a sad world.

Carolee Bennett’s post about letter poems gave me the perfect outlet for a situation I experienced online recently. It feels good to get this off my chest. Now I can let it go. Do hop over and read Carolee’s informative post and the examples of letter poems she shares. So good!

My “Something Small, Every Day (or so)” series is inspired by Austin Kleon’s piece here where he says, “Building a body of work (or a life) is all about the slow accumulation of a day’s worth of effort over time.”