You’ll Know the Same for Shame

No one has a grip on shame.
This is not to say it’s not
Understood. You understand.

You all understand shame well.
No one has a handle on
Exactly when and how much

Shame is atrocious and good.
You can feel shame for shaming.
You can feel defiant pride

For having been shamed—it’s not
So simple as foreboding
Of being given the boot

By your group. One thing we’ll state—
Shame, true shame, and true shaming
Are truly human doings.

When, at last, you get a grip
On when it is and isn’t
Good to be a human, then—