Not a crime
Poem: Not a crime
I’m a firm believer in one thing at a time
It’s not a crime to say no
Too much on your plate leads to anger and feeling irate
It’s not a crime to say no
Saying yes could lead to a mess and a right two and eight
It’s not a crime to say no
Don’t dress it up, make it sound like it’s final and there’s nowhere else to go?
Speak up and know
It’s not a crime to say NO!
Review: Not a crime
Oooh goodness me! What an arresting title of the poem (pardon the pun)
I am so curious! Was ‘it’ indeed a crime, this thing? Were people castigated for it? If it’s not already, should it be a crime? Have the laws changed? WHAT IS IT ? I’m going to stop here before I get too involved with my questioning!
Thankfully the poet meets my questions with an answer in the second line and it is with ‘saying no’ and that is the thing that is not a crime. Good! I personally applaud that!
Pressure pressure pressure!
We are all guilty of putting too much of it on ourselves.
The poet sees this and wants to help you dear reader!
Putting too much of it on yourself is not going to serve you well at all.
Saying yes to everything because it serves the other party well? They’ve got criteria to meet and certain boxes to tick within a time frame etc, etc. Come off it!
It is not your life they are living these experts/professionals or other, is it?
The poet is correct with the warning of anger! I implore you dear reader, TO NOT BECOME ANGRY due to the ‘must do, to do lists of others!
YOU are living your life dear reader not the people who don’t know you from Adam, and you have only had a few conversations with them! Personally, I think I would prefer to have a good old-fashioned chat with good old Adam, no pressure there with the first chap on the planet. I’m imagining having pleasant and cordial conversations with him. I could find out so much! What are his likes, dislikes? What are his greatest strengths? Weaknesses? What does he enjoy most about being the number one chappie on earth? Does he have any pets, and did he use any ‘chat up lines’ on Eve? Maybe like it’s “You and me babe, how about it?” or “you’re the only one for me, sugar” Well, erm yes, she is Ad, (I’d say to him) as she is the only other lady on the planet at the time of your appearance! She may not even like sugar.
But hey, you plucked up the courage and sounded sweet saying it to her. I could hug you both. Aww and all that.
Anyway
Put them, dear reader, not Adam and Eve but those experts and professionals into a safety box of good intentions and come back to it, IN YOUR TIME, not theirs because you have things that need prioritising ON YOUR TERMS! Patience is a virtue and all that! Some need to look at the broader picture! I apologise dear reader for raising my voice here and there, but I am with the poet on this one and I wish to support you too.
Saying No is empowering and can be politely flexible. For me, it’s not always to be a definite ‘no’. It’s potentially ‘a not yet’ because I’ve got other important things to address that are a priority. I’ll just be saying thank you and ‘no for now’
Phew, I already feel better applying ‘no’ in this way. It’s not rude, It’s confident and certain. It’s how one says it and to whom one is saying it to.
Could the poet be a Londoner? I think it’s charming how the poet uses cockney rhyming slang with saying ‘a right two and eight’ to say ‘state’
I hope it doesn’t exclude readers but acts as a conversation starter for those who don’t know but would like to get to know the term.
I love the first rhyming line in the poem of “..one thing at a time with “it’s not a crime”…
I love the refrain throughout the poem of “it’s not a crime to say no”
Towards the end of poem, the words ‘know’ and ‘no’ are placed nicely.
An empowering little read with a mighty message.
Yes, I’ll say to reading it again and again.