Colin F. Jones

TO A FRIEND

~ 1 ~

I do not hate those who scorn me
Though they scorn me for no ill.
I just pray that they soon see
That it is their own soul they kill.
I do not envy the works of others
Though their skills I may admire,
And I never turn away from brothers
Though they may, from me, retire.
You may cast your lies about me,
They will not the truth delay,
But what will be, will be.
I shall respect all that you say
Even though you cannot see
That yours is not the righteous way

~ 2 ~

Though you take from God the power,
To claim belief in him is right,
And design your religious bower
On the Roman Catholic churches might.
As a Christian you are a fake,
For you ignore the sacred rules
That your Lord God doth make,
To deter hypocrites and fools.
All that you claim to be,
In a single tantrum you erase,
Allowing jealousy to decree
That your sincerity is a phase;
A false front for all to see
That hides your lesser ways.

~ 3 ~

Yet I scorn thee not my brother
For I understand your plight,
Though to be jealous of another,
I can never condone as right.
And though spite may overcome you,
That it drives your thoughts to hate,
I will never form the view,
That for love it is to late.
For you see faith is not just talk,
And brotherhood is no sham.
At neither one I balk
For I am a sincere man,
And that is not just talk
Though you may not give a damn.

~ 4 ~

You owe no apology to me,
For it is yourself that you deceive.
You must be as you must be;
For me, you are as I perceive.
To be a knight and prince is fine
But to be a King, I must confess,
Means one’s thoughts must be divine,
For ones manners must impress.
You can boast about your art,
But then it suffers from your boast,
For self-appraisal plays no part,
And does not impress your host.
And remember, when you are tall,
It is a long way down to fall.

~ 5 ~

I do not boast and brag like you;
I just do what I do that’s all.
I do not seek to make my view
The only one to install.
If I manage to win my way
Around the obstacles of prevent,
I still respect the words you say
Though they convey a hatred meant
To belittle me and seek
To encourage angry reply,
That I may falter when I speak
And bring satisfaction to your eye.
Though it would not be yours to win,
But mine to regard my sin.

~ 6 ~

Thus I speak here as a friend,
For I will never be your foe,
And if you do not comprehend
Then indeed it will be so.
You may feel like you are a king,
But to me you are just a bloke
And I owe you not one thing,
Your inner truth I will provoke.
Fame comes to worthy people,
Not to those who chase the sun,
And God lives not in the steeple
nor in the medals we have won;
He lives in the minds of believers
who have done what they have done.

~ 7 ~

To respect only those who praise you
Is to respect your own conceit.
And that my friend is what you do,
You are guilty of deceit.
You seek to try to hurt me,
And I say, do your worst or best,
For you are your own enquiry,
Which is the nature of my test.
It is not me you will find wanting,
It is the sad culture of your mind,
Your own defective flaunting
That its own mad spite will find.
Thus I leave you with my blessings,
For I count all your scorns as kind.