Outcomes

Outcomes
(A poem about point of view)

He made a guess and it turned out fine,
How smart he is.
He made a guess and it turned out wrong,
What a fool is he,
He should have know better.

The same things done,
The same choices made,
But depending on the outcome,
People’s views change.

Words were spoken,
Words were written.
If there is silence,
Then “Perhaps I should have said nothing.”
But if there is confirmation,
Then “I am so glad I said something.”

The same words spoken
The same words arranged
But depending on the outcome
People’s views change

He loves her and she loves him,
How sweet they say.
He loves her and she does not.
Is he a creeper and she is prey?
Or is she foolish and he a jackpot?

Do we base choices on outcomes,
On happy endings?
On others’ thoughts?

You loved with all you had
And you were accepted.
You loved with all you had
And you were rejected.

If you do the right thing and people hate you,
If you do the wrong thing and people love you,
How will you decide to live your life,
Based on truth or based on eyes?

Do you stick with your scruples
Even when everyone else disagrees?
Even when fear holds you captive
And makes you weak in the knees?
Is what is right based on an outcome,
On the popular mantra, on the majority’s song?
If the ending is not happy, then was the choice then wrong?
Or is what is right always right,
Despite how people see and think?

Beyond a cursory glance,
Under deceptive beguiling disarray,
Beneath ostentatious presentation,
Resides a Permanent ink.
If truth lies deep,
Beyond what the surface portrays
--a jewel shining in a dark alleyway--
Be careful how quickly you decide
Consider well your choices by which you abide.
Truth will be missed by many a heart,
For finding truth is a delicate art.
Cling to it once found
Make it your solid ground

*

Are your roots deep enough
To keep you stayed and strong
When your decisions don’t align
With the praise of people
Or popular thought?

When the wind grows ruthless,
And the day grows dark.
Do you have the confidence to stand
 In silence bleak and
Circumstances stark?
Could you be bold,
To stand
Against words so cold?
Can you hold your position,
Strain against ridicule,
Believe in the dark of what is yet unseen?

Or will you fall?

Will you sway with opinions of others,
And collapse when they ask you to yield?
Will you second guess yourself,
And let others dictate your own thoughts?
Will you comply with their unrelenting whine,
And passively watch your integrity decline?

*

Another thought to thoroughly ponder--
Do choices have instant conclusions or
Are they part of something longer, harder?
Merely corners, bends,
Stops along the way, guiding, 
Orientating the destination at the end?

Perhaps outcomes are judged too soon
Like a flower before it blooms.

When, then, is an outcome fully decided,
When does it reach the end of its course?
When do the choices come to a stop,
When is it time to reckon and resolve,
Whether blossoms bloom retrorse or not?
When, then, is an ending thoroughly ripe for appraisal?

Should judgment then be contained,
Until the chaos resolves? Pronouncement be restrained
Until--the climax reached,
Like a chef who finally made the dish complete
Places it down for the awaiting critique?
Until--one draws the last breath
Painting life with all that’s left?

When at last the final outcome does appear,
How do wish for it to be decided,
Based on truth or based on eyes?

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