Maybe He Wouldn't Be So Bad

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he only thought before he spoke;

If any criticism didn't

Make him lash out in words that provoke.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he knew how to control himself;

If he weren’t so totally narcissistic

And didn't always extol himself.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he weren't always on the attack;

If he didn't stir up anger in people

And act like a puerile maniac.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he didn't stoop to denigrate

The Muslim parents of a fallen soldier;

If he only kept his stories straight.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he hadn't praised Saddam Hussein

And Vladimir Putin and other tyrants;

If he knew the facts about Ukraine.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he didn’t make racist remarks;

If he'd be upfront about his taxes;

If he didn't feed us to the sharks.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

And more women would like the man

If he didn't call them "pigs" and "dogs"

And pull his words from the garbage can.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he had a clear sense of reality;

If his promise for running the country didn't

Reflect incompetence in its totality.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he didn't complain about outsourcing work

While hiring foreign workers himself

And justifying it with a smirk.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad

If he didn't frightfully alienate

People all around the world

Who fear what he could perpetrate.

 

Maybe he wouldn't be so bad.

The idea might possibly be in our thoughts.

But can a tiger change its stripes?

Can a leopard change its spots?

 

(8-2-16)

Reviews

[Indra Dharma]

Great word choice and rhyming!

I feel like I get this "maybe he wouldn't be so bad" from so many different perspectives. It's easy for someone to fit a person into his/her criteria and labeling them a certain way (good/bad) without consciously knowing about it...And it's hard to alter what people has already thought about you once you're labeled good/bad.

I guess that's just my take. Great poem nonetheless!