He smiled
And told me
Good morning

I smiled back
And wished him
The same

Another woman
Walking back to her car
Smiled
And told me
Good morning

I smiled back
And wished her
The same

This happened
A couple more times
Before I was allowed
To go indoors

A smile
A friendly
Good morning

It made me wonder
How many times
Per day
Do we do the right thing
Simply because
It's the right thing to do

How many times
Per day
Do we do the right thing
Simply because
We want to

How many times
Per day
Do we pass up and opportunity to do the right thing
Simply because
We just don't feel like it

When the strangers smiled
And told me
Good morning
It felt normal
Yet forced

We have been trained
To tell people
We don't know
Good morning
Simply because
We're being friendly

But I don't understand
The reasoning behind
Smiling at strangers
And telling them
*Good morning