If I cajole, coerce, condescend, disparage, intimidate
Another human spirit in attempt to somehow
gain the minds,
approval, or liking of others
Then I have already lost
If respect is not shown in a way that reflects and acknowledges
My own self in another person’s bone and skin,
Having lived such a life as mine with
a completely different set of results
and perspective
Then I have already lost
If I try to dominate the indomitable
The fellow wild human spirit
that runs as free as
Nature Itself with me
Then I have already lost
If I don’t welcome your contrarian view
Which illuminates the side of my prey – our prey
that which was yet unseen, unknown, and different to me
Then I have already lost
If I meet your perceived disrespect
With my own in actual intent
To prove that I am somehow
more “right” or “found” than you
Then I have already lost