Swindling Steve

Swindling Steve—he makes my blood boil!
He’s like a rattlesnake in the
desert, wrapped in a coil.
Ready to strike and cause pain with his words.
Oohhh! That guy gets on my nerves.
His words are poison, and they’re meant to hurt.
I want to rub his face in a pile of dirt.
Better yet, manure. Let him have a taste.
Just smother it all over his smug, little face.
My parents tell me I shouldn’t think that way.
But they don’t have to deal with
him every single day.
With his bad attitude, he thinks he knows it all.
Sometimes I want to deck him right in the jaw.
But as soon as I get angry, I hear a still voice.
Telling me to calm down and
make a wise choice.
My parents tell me to just pause for a sec.
Take a deep breath and put myself on check.
They say, “What if he’s getting
bullied when he is at home.
And there’s no one to protect
him, and he’s all alone?
Or what if he’s sad, and he’s just acting out?
There’s all kinds of issues that
you do not know about.”

Hold up, folks. Are you saying it’s okay?
That I could be mean when I have a bad day?
And before I can finish, I see
the look on Mom’s face.
You know the one that puts
you right in your place.
“Mom,” I respond, but before I can speak.
She says, “Be a strong person,
not one that is weak.
It’s easy to get angry and just go and attack.
But the best thing to do is not even react.
It’s tough sometimes to do the what is right.
You have to be strong and use all of your might.
Do not let someone else define who you’ll be.
I hope you take this advice
from your dad and me.”
“Okay, Mom. I won’t let him get under my skin.
Because if he does, well, then he will win.”
Now when I see Steve, I kind of feel bad.
Life must suck when you’re always mad.
Always putting up a front just to seem cool.
Trying to be the most popular kid in our school.
That’s too much work that you have to do.
So I will stay me, far away from you.