Love Your Enemy

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The month of August has arrived, and I’m moving along on my quest to post a blog daily. I challenged myself to this intense post schedule. I have used the year 2021 to explore the various forms of poetry. This month I decided to write Proverbial forms of poetry. I will pick a proverb, a short common saying, and use it to create a poem in whatever direction the Muse chooses to lead me. However, you must remember we are talking about Word Daddy here. My Muse isn’t dependability or inspirational. He often leaves me high and dry when I need his help the most. Apparently, Proverbials have no particular rules. I will try not to sound cliché. My next attempt to write a Proverbial Poem, I will call Love Your Enemy.

Love Your Enemy

The proverbial saying, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” probably originated with Sun Tzu in The Art of War. Machiavelli also gets credit for saying something similar in The Prince.

Love Your Enemy

The good book makes a harsh command,

Love your enemy is hard to understand.

There may be some logic in The Art of War

Sun Tzu’s words aren’t easy to ignore.

His theory concerning the enemy

Would never produce serenity.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

Like some sort of lethargic, pathetic poser

Would make certain to earn you a knife in the back.

Or upside the head, he’d deliver a whack.

I prefer the strategy of heaping coals on the fire

And when the situation looks dismal and dire,

I’ll adopt a different philosophy

Which might work out better for me

One easy to embrace and defend

The enemy of my enemy will become my friend.

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

Be sure to follow Molly on Twitter!

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Published by henhouselady

I am the author of Saving the Hen House. I didn't know when I started it would turn into a series. I love to ride motorcycles, the blues, my family, and going on adventures. This old hen rocks.

21 thoughts on “Love Your Enemy

  1. Many phrases and quotes in life is contrary to the principles in life and some are faith based and others just are 1-of-a-kind and mind-capturing and when I am faced with such situations I rely on either intuition or gut-feeling or instinct!

    *Your post is well thought out and well written into type*

  2. wow, very nicely done… not easy to capture the flick-flaking of these dynamics… what I have found fascinating is the hold that the idea of Trust is even possible…maybe… There go I but for the Grace of God… or Walking in another’s Shoe’s sayings are on your last leg of the August run… btw I fillowed a blogger on a 100 day’s run… it’s some challenge so thank you for making the effort, thought provoking stuff…

  3. Loving my enemy is in accord with Bible teachings but inconsistent with life and contrary to nature!
    I have never learn to love my enemy
    it may take practice and such practice don’t interest me so far!!!

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