Thoughtlessness ...

I have friends,
Naming no names,
To protect the innocent
(and the stupid people who hurt them),
A couple of them in fact,
Who in recent days and weeks
Have been hurt.

Not by mean people
Or bad people or not nice people,
But thoughtlessness.
I have hurt others with this weapon myself,
And been hurt by it;
It's not a trait to be proud of,
And can apparently do as much damage
As any intentional spite
(although I've witnessed some
pretty epic spite too).

My friends are kind, smart, pretty,
Flawed, but wonderful people.
They do not deserve
How they have been treated of late
And I feel for them.
I wish they could
Remove themselves from the pain,
Or I could remove them,
But I also know this is easier said than done.

Especially when those doing the damage
Are basically decent human beings
Flawed like the rest of us,
Sensitivity chip missing,
Not thinking of the collateral damage
Their confusion wroughts in others.
So all I can ask of my friends,
Of those hurting them,
Of myself and anyone
Who happens to be reading this,
Is for thought.

We will still make mistakes.
We will still hurt each other.
Our confusion will hurt others,
And our willingness to be selfish
Will bring that trait out
In the otherwise selfless.
We are human -
Forgiveness is divine -
Forgiving ourselves our own foolishness,
And forgiving, then forgetting
Those who repeatedly hurt us,
Is the first step toward
Healing.