Tom Smith Poet Rhyme

Worst Enemy

Everything straight I am sure they can be
Picture frames off by a single degree
If off it is something I readily see
I’m uncertain why this is a bother to me

Stockings at Christmas hung all in row
The spacing is critical everyone knows
I put nails in the mantle to show where they go
Important to me that their place is just so

Items at dinner must be in their place
If not a straight line it would be a disgrace
The salt and the pepper then candle stick base
Butter and yes everything cause such distaste

A car parked just barely between the white lines
I don’t understand why to some it seems fine
To find something spaced that is plainly misaligned
It gives me such trembles that race down my spine

I’ve heard them suggest that mine is a disorder
They say I am obsessed if so just on the border
Compulsive I say not I’m just a bit smarter
To see disarray and bring all into order

All in all I say that I’m a fine guy
Perhaps a bit quirky I cannot deny

My positive spirit asks let this go by
But place things in order I so wish you would try

I was asked who I thought was my worst enemy
I hate to admit to admit but it just might be me

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Alison A Smith August 23, 2026 at 9:02 PM A delightfully wry, well-rhymed portrait of a mind that cannot overlook the smallest misalignment. The escalating everyday examples are vivid and funny, while the speaker’s rationalisations give the poem an engaging, self-aware voice. The closing admission lands especially well: humorous, honest, and neatly tied to the title.