INGRATITUDE This is a dark, sardonic, ironic poem; written in the voice of one who knows that they are right! (and you are wrong); who is justified in criticising, invalidating and trying to destroy another's self determinism; who knows that there is only one truth and that they have it; who in an earlier era would have tortured, burned and killed for the good of all, particularly their victims; and who feel a little saddened at the lack of appreciation that they receive. ******************* How could you give me such extreme distress While my care for you has always been so strong When you erred in thinking you were a success Did I not then show you where you were going wrong When you spent so much toil on your pathetic writing I enlightened you how you were wasting all your time I put you right and helped you with my chiding To get you straight and back again in line The expression of ideas you took delight in You wilfully disagreed with all of mine Why couldn't you just conform and stop the fighting Your rebelliousness it really was a crime You would still be in religious cult induction If I hadn't made a plan for your salvation Though you fought it and screamed it was an abduction For your own sake we had to use incarceration When your protests were diagnosed as bipolarity A psychiatrist said psycho-medicine would be kind Then a little dose of electroconvulsive therapy Brought you to a more amenable frame of mind And yet you now show such a lack of gratitude All my caring seems to be misunderstood And I find it hard to understand your attitude Since I've always done what's purely for your good