Pesky People

There are certain people
Whose sole purpose in life
Seems to be
The trouble they cause.
They find a perverse pleasure
In annoying others
As if that is the only way
They can get
The attention they seek.
Their sense of who they are
Is proportional to
The difficulties they cause.
Our instinct may be
To respond in kind,
To want to outdo them
At their own game,
But all that does
Is reduce ourselves
Down to their level.
If we allow ourselves
To get snagged or snared
By any person with a grudge
Or an ax to grind,
We are no better than they.
Why should we let them dictate
The kind of game we play?
You and I
Are better than that.