“I’m sorry”, she said
And I replied, “you’re ‘right”
Her apology given as we approach one another on a walking track
A narrow track but not that narrow
Wide enough for two to pass
Barely breaking stride, a slight turn of the body to make room
I make room, it causes me no trouble at all
Yet she is sorry
For nothing more than being in that place at that time
That I must make a small adjustment in my movement
To accommodate her existence
Well may I ask why but of course I already know
The dynamic learned, so often as a girl, sometimes as a boy
That they can never be wrong, or rather
That you can never be right if your right means they are wrong
You are only allowed to be right when it is no inconvenience to them
First and foremost comes their comfort
And you must cater, ever, to serve that goal
Even if it means that you must learn that you are wrong
And can only ever be right by their approval
Their approval, ever set just beyond your reach, because it is not yours
It is theirs, and to keep it so, you must never have it
Were you to defy them and deny them their comfort, what do they do?
You say they are being unfair, they become more prejudiced
You say they didn’t listen, they deny you ever spoke
You say you cannot be in relationship with them, they attack your reputation
They respond to your defiance of their rightness
By proving you right
“I’m sorry”, she said
The sorry she is still owed and will never receive
The sorry she was taught to live, now given without thought, without cause
And I replied, “your right”

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