Hurt People Hurt People - poem
the man on the bus
the way he was so angry
yelling at the bus drive because
his stop had been missed to no fault
of the bus driver, where did that man
learn that anger?
was he raised in a home
with anger, was this how he was
hurt when he was young, and how
he learned how to be in the world
to interact with others, the way
others taught him
to be angry
i picture the man
a young boy, looking up to his father
confused and bewildered at the rage
that has come, the hurt that is being
bestowed upon him because his toys
are not where they should be, or
because he didn't use the drill
correctly, or because there is
a scratch on the car which may
or may not have been his doing
it is his undoing, a misdoing, that
is being done to him, this
harm
the unskillful are unskillful
because no one ever taught them
to be skillful, because someone taught
them to be unskillful
the angry people are angry
because no one ever taught them
to not be angry, to be kind, to be
compassionate and understanding
and forgiving and loving
those who hurt people, are hurt people
hurt people hurt people
i feel
only compassion
for the angry man
on the bus as i wait
for my stop
