A Shame You Should But Couldn’t

Just another social weapon, shame,
With all the usual attendant
Questions about who should deploy it,

When it should be deployed. Should you fear
More the gangsters or the shame police,
Shame systems or your own bad habits,

Your family or the enemies
Of your family’s values? A shame
Shows a waste, a pity, a toxin,

A disqualification from life
As a moral human, misfortune.
You can carry shame for self-defense,

Concealed, or holstered in the open
As a warning. You can license shame,
Dispense it through registered dealers,

Keep it under your pillow, leave it
In reach of vulnerable children,
Regulate it, kit armies with it,

Tuck shame in your waistband and swagger.
It is what it does. It’s propulsive,
Pointed, useful, deadly, and you’re soft.