Treatment

We don’t even
attempt to hide
our addiction to
Judgment,

our stashes of
assessments and
evaluations and
measurement-by-measurement
comparisons,

our secret
compartments of
critiques and
castigations and
condemnations,

especially the ones
we’ve hoarded
for our Selves,

to be consumed
in secret,
along with a
cocktail
or two of
self-pity, or
renunciation.

If you
grow tired
of captivity
you might
consider
treatment.

It’s offered by
the Love Maker
whose idea
of a good time is

dousing your
judgments
in 100-proof
affection,

setting them
ablaze with
flames of
approval
that consume
your condemnations
with enough
warmth and
light

to keep you
creating
adventures
for your Soul
that will
entertain us
in places
Judgment never
heard of.

(Photo by Klara Kulikova; UnSplash)