Laws of Man

Laws of Man

Imperfect, arbitrary, necessary...

I fondly remember when
being naughty was as simple
as saying a dirty word,
as tearing the page of a library book,
as riding my bike across a lawn.
Then I grew in size,
and so too did the rule book
along with my transgressions.

Now it seems we all use the rules
as a bludgeon only for others,
and that we so rarely consider
when the rules no longer apply.

Whenever I am in doubt,
I invoke the Golden Rule.

---

The laws of God, the laws of man,
He may keep that will and can;
Not I: let God and man decree
Laws for themselves and not for me;
And if my ways are not as theirs
Let them mind their own affairs.
~ A. E. Housman