respect, and how to learn it

last night at dinner I was rude
to you. and then later, at home,
you were rude to me.
turnabout is fair play,
I guess.

you said you respect me,
but your eyes and your behavior
belied it. I thought I
respected you, but
my actions, too, told
a different story.

perhaps this is all right,
because this is how
we learn. one shows disrespect
and the other speaks up, says
“that made me feel bad,
and here is why”.
without that correction,
we would not know
the error of our ways,
the unintended disrespect
we gave to the one
whose opinion we value
above all others.

this is how you discover that
to keep feelings
in your heart
is not enough,
they must be shown
through right words
and right actions
if you want your love
to be believed.

the course of true love
never did run smooth.
but only a running stream
can make our jagged edges
into rounded river rocks.