Rituals

So much of our lives is ritual:
how we greet a friend,
hold a fork, cut the grass, even how we dress,
if we’re to be judged correct.

It’s not always wrong,
but ritual is sometimes absurd.
For instance, it is argued long
whether toilet paper

is to be pulled down
from the top and front of the roll
or up from the back and the bottom.
No pun intended.

Rituals are the bones of society
and help keep it civil,
much more than pride in the law.
Being shunned
is at least somewhat better than jail,
since jails also have rules.

But customs change.
New customs bring with them new rituals.
What was polite becomes a target of scorn,
and rebellion is suddenly preferred behavior.

What, then, to say? That God, nonetheless,
still loves you and is forgiving.
So, knowing you are loved by God,
go ahead and hate.