Some people can be their own worst enemy.
Frequently, they tend to call attention
To their gross incompetence and act
Amazed when they're surrounded by dissension.
Perhaps it's just that they're oblivious
To their surroundings, or they do not care
About matters not involving them.
They're caught up in their self-love affair.
Their stratagem relies on subterfuge.
To achieve their desires, they deceive.
Their focus is NOT on what to give,
But rather on how much they'll receive.
One wonders if they'll ever pay the price
Of brushing off intelligent advice.

Being their own worst enemy, such people
Love to play the victim or the martyr.
Would it even faze them if friends said,
"You know, we really thought that you were smarter"?
How they love to catapult themselves
Into a situation and then claim
That everybody's out to get them! Then,
"Poor me!" they cry as they pass the blame.
The words "empathy" and "understanding"
Aren't a part of their vocabulary.
If you don't agree with what they say,
Then you become their hateful adversary.
What would it take to make it clear
That they themselves are what they ought to fear?

-by Bob B (8-22-17)