I was tempted by the mantle
of the good guy —
the evidence compelling,
the accolades attractive

But I considered —
What, then, of the bad guys?
Is there anyone I’m willing
to throw under the bus,
to think of them as scraps
to pull away from my fine cut out
and discard?

No. Let the cloth be whole.
Let there be no one condemned,
no one discarded.
Let the good I am
be one that holds out
for the true picture,
where no one is cut out
and all are welcomed,
where everybody’s place is integral.

©Wendy Mulhern
November 22, 2019