The Cost of Kindness

The Price of Mercy 

In a world 

filled with venom 

what does it cost 

to be kind 

to give a soft answer 

to speak without cruelty 

to respond without 

the serpents hiss 

to lower the shield 

to drop the blade  

to let the strike land 

and choose not to trade 

wound for wound 

Is it 

so much easier 

to be uncaring 

so much cheaper 

to be cruel 

How costly 

is consideration—

Are our words 

the reflection 

of the hardness 

of the armor 

with which 

we protect our hearts 

Are we afraid 

we will be perceived 

as weak 

if we do not return 

vitriol for vitriol 

sound for sound 

in our ceaseless 

echo chamber 

Where every voice

is sharpened

on the whetstone

of its own fear

Where gentleness

is treated

as a luxury good

priced beyond reach

Where kindness

is mistaken

for surrender

and mercy

for loss

But what if

the real expense

is the toll

cruelty takes

on the one

who wields it

What if

the cheaper act

is the one

that costs us

our humanity

What if

the soft answer

is not given 

to save them— 

but to save 

what remains 

of us