I'm Sorry-

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry about your inner demons-
I’m sorry that attending to my own inner demons
sometimes took my time away from feeding yours.
I’m sorry for suggesting that
my inner demons might also need feeding.
I’m sorry that my inner demons took your inner demons
out to dinner, and ate them.
Ok, I’m not really sorry about that.

I’m sorry that my occasional bouts of sadness
took my time away from your constantly flowing river of angst.
That must have been Hell for you.
I’m sorry for complicating your life
by being a part of it.
I really am sorry about that.
Truly, deeply sorry.
You’ve no idea...
But don’t worry-
That’s a mistake I won’t be making again.

I’m sorry that you choose to wrap your self-pity
around yourself like a blanket-
But at least you’ve learned to take it off,
and to use it as a club
with which you beat everybody around you senseless.
I’m sorry I refused to learn that skill from you-
Ok, I’m not really sorry about that.

And when I’m not really sorry,
 I will admit that I’m not sorry,
Because all too often in today’s world,
‘I’m sorry’ no longer means ‘I’m sorry’.
‘I’m sorry I was offensive’ has become
‘I’m sorry you were offended’,
and I’m sorry, but they are not the same thing,
So when you say to me,
‘I’m sorry that you were offended’,
I’ll reply, ‘I’m sorry that you’re such a dikwad’.

I’m sorry the world today isn’t like
you imagine it was 50 years ago,
back when America was perfect,
back when “Those People” knew their place,
and when “People Like That”
 didn’t have the nerve to go and
be who they are in places where you’d
have to deal with their existence.
And I’m sorry their existence offends you,
and I’m sorry you’re a racist, homophobic, misogynistic idiot.
I really am sorry about that.

I’m sorry you’re offended by my life.
I’m sorry you’re offended by my friends.
I’m sorry you’re offended by my friends’ lives.
But you know what?
Now I’m sorry that I’m sorry.
Because being sorry for you are,
and who I am,
and who they are,
is another mistake that I won’t repeat.
And if that offends you?
I’m sorry- but that’s tough.