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Poem
People are all over. 
Some we see, others we barely
Notice. Some we instantly look
Away from, afraid to acknowledge.
I am talking about the beggars
Naturally.
Some try to pretend they
Are not there,
But they are.

Some we revere and admire, 
Even without really knowing them.
Naturally I refer to the rich and famous
Or the families that appear to be made
Up of happy people. 
Sometimes they completely
Fool us. That is okay.

Others we make fun of, for their
Juvenile ridiculous tweets or Facebook
Postings.  Some we completely 
Discount without knowing at all, thinking
We know them because of an impulsive
Social media blunder.  People make
Mistakes. Right?

We judge people before they open
Their mouths.  We judge them by
Who they resemble, rumor mongers
And exaggerators who 
Who have taken advantage of our
Naivety perhaps.  
We do not mean to
Judge them. It just happens.

Impressions are important, but the first
One is not the only one we could use
To box and shelf a person.

Yet, it is what many of us do.
Not all of us, and not every time,
But some of us do this to
People who remind us of others who
Have taken advantage of us, hurt
Our feelings, or done other forms
Of meanness or selfishness.

Boxing and shelfing people is what
We do.  After labeling them of course.
We label people pretty quickly – 
liar, braggart, brassy, loud, whiny,
Complaint artist.  

Some people make
It through our filters quickly, others
Do not survive the initial two second
Not-quite-complete-preview. 

We have a “feeling” about them. This
Feeling is often based on prior
Knowledge we have about
Someone they resemble.  Feelings
Are difficult to overcome. 

Sometimes we are not
Aware at all that this feeling voice
Has overruled our mind.

Some people make
Many new friends, these are the
Open people.  They tend to 
get burned the most often, but
They think the risk is worth it because
They are people-lovers, they collect
New people.  

Other people are highly suspicious
Of new people. They wonder at
Their motives, they are not in the
New-friend-making business, so
They try and shelf us over and
Over again. 

If you are a people
Person, you do not shelf easily.
You keep coming back, knowing
Their friendship will be worth it.

These hard-to-get-to-know-types
Are insanely loyal once you have
Refused to be labelled, and boxed on
Their shelves.

You are in their faces, 
Befriending and nurturing them,
Becoming one of their people
Because you know that 
No one makes a better friend.

Submitted to People's Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Richard Lamoureaux
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