I Allow Myself To Hate

A Poem

It’s a wonder to me how some people are so immune to hatred as if they can wilfully disregard all the ills of society and their own personal biases in favor of a cup of hot water with lemon

I don’t envy them at all because I don’t believe them I don’t believe you can be hate-free and live in a society like ours But when it comes to hate I think the word is oft misconstrued My hatred for people in general is not discriminatory or sexist I just find a lot of people to be supremely annoying My hatred for capers and olives is not just a mild feeling I really hate them and wish that they were sent to an island where they could smash themselves together, making olive & caper sandwiches to their heart’s content

I don’t need a sugar-coated version of life where hate is a non-entity, a forgotten emotion that is too often the subject of hyperbolic rage when coupled with prejudice That’s not my kind of hate, but I do, in fact, hate prejudice and bigotry Is hate too strong a word for that?

I hate cigarette smoke and pedophiles I hate the freezing cold and politicians I hate sideways rain and doorbells I hate things and I don’t feel bad about it The problem is that extremists hate and act while I just quietly hate and clasp my hands or hold my nose to keep my aggressive thoughts to myself so as not to bother anyone else with my self-contained micro-aggressions

Sometimes I hate something and then I realize that I don’t, but I don’t feel bad because I make mistakes and sometimes I feel like I make too many mistakes and then I hate myself and how can I honestly say I don’t hate when my favorite target is looking back at me in the mirror with his smug little face?

I allow myself to hate because hate is just a feeling that most of us can contain A subtle pinch of negativity A gentle caress of angst and sometimes, just sometimes the most rightful feeling we can have because as much as we all want to be perfect some people and some things have earned our hatred

© Jonathan Greene 2020

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