Cautious Pity

“Those who do not complain are never pitied.”
~ Jane Austen


Pity does not volunteer
when there’s no complaining near.
Pity’s always circumspect
when discord is kept in check.

Pity folds her arms with shrug
when complaints are safe and snug.
She looks on with careful glare
as lamenting fails to dare.

She knows of grease applied to wheels
due to squeaks and due to squeals.
Pity will not be as grease
when the wheel remains at peace.

Sniveling is pity’s bane;
to be sure, she will refrain
from kvetching’s noisy sides
where the woe is me abides.

Yet if pity has to fly,
she will do so but ask why.
She wears raiment, though threadbare;
sheds a tear in her despair.

But the heart of pity knows
grumbling is the height of lows.
Careful does her pity stay
when complaining’s held at bay.


24 Lines
Writer’s Cramp Winner
9-20-17