I’ve learned that one will never say ‘I’m sorry,’
And rarely ‘please’ or ‘thank-you.’ Who knows why?
If you know someone like that then learn to do the math:
No doubt that someone is in fact a sociopath.
If you love someone like that, I have learned,
There’s not a lot to recommend you do
But learn to be aware, apply the rules of math,
And pray for those who know and love a sociopath.
I’ve lately learned that there are other terms
For sociopath, and other ways one acts.
For one, he’s always right. If you should prove one wrong,
Then be prepared to duck. You seem to know that song.
A sociopath butts in for your own good
Then tells you he is good for doing so!
Bullies are likewise blind to the havoc they wreak,
Like the narcissist and the so-called control freak.
A sociopath, I’m learning, can be trained,
However (best to start before age seven):
If he has parents, aunts, or (later in life) you
Who have patience and love enough to see me through.
James B. Nicola is a returning contributor to True Chili and the author of eight collections of poetry, the latest being Fires of Heaven (2021), Turns & Twists (2022), and Natural Tendencies (2023). His nonfiction book Playing the Audience won a Choice magazine award.