Repentance

In this world, all acts are simple;

kindness is a slap instead of a strike

charity, a blade in place of bullets.

To forgive is to suffer the life of another

rather than hasten their death;

and honesty is simply to say

“I really don’t give a damn,

one way or another

what the hell happens to you.”

This philosophy, while seemingly perfect

has a simple, horrific flaw:

what appears to be pure self-protection,

the denial of the needs of the other,

leads to, in reality, the corruption of all society

and the issue of les cartes-blanches

for the killers in us all.