That's Not Safe

Like a fear-filled cactus bud, I keep my heart shut. Like prey before predators, I become wary. Fearing myself, I hide myself within my hut. Unknown loads, involuntarily, I carry. I flatter, in the name of cool conversation. I demand respect instead of commanding it. Virtues, in day-to-day life, find degradation. Values, like salt-tinged iron, corrode bit-by-bit. Selfishness and self-righteousness find their zenith Deception, like the mirage, misleads the conscience. Truthfulness has turned into an obsolete myth. Tolerance faces herein constant remonstrance. Stress, strain, sadness, and sorrow prosper and flourish. All that had been considered good becomes rubbish.