She was out for a walk, alone with her thoughts,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five years retired already, been quite the journey, two\nyears a widow now, unfortunately,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heard from the kids every now and then, grandkids loved her\nwhen they visited,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too long between reunions but life gets busy thanks to\nhigher costs of living,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melancholy comes knocking every now and then, but for the\nmost part life\u2019s a breeze,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simple living and optimism, both have been the key,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this day, her peace \u2018bout to be shattered in ways cringey\nthan clear and present danger,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dude ran towards her, gave her quite a fright, expecting\na thug or purse-snatcher but he wasn\u2019t that type,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He asked her how she was doing, if she was feeling blue,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wrapped himself around her, minus her consent, before a\nresponse can come through,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be alright,\u201d said he, \u201cyou will be ok,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou looked like you needed cheering, have a lovely day,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His mate stands not far away, phone pointed towards \u2018em,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon to be uploaded into cyberspace without their subject\u2019s\npermission,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Off they run feeling heroic while she\u2019s left to pick up the\npieces,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To say she\u2019s weirded out and mortified would be an\nunderstatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not too far away, dude on the sidewalk wasting,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reviewing his current situation, the culmination of bad breaks\nand his own poor decisions,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Living off of others\u2019 generosity and donations,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the most part mere shrapnel but it\u2019s better than\nnothing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day was approached by a total stranger, cash in her\nhand, ready for a big contribution, but for reasons rather sad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She dropped the dough as intended but her phone was pointed\nat his face,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnjoy your money, Sir,\u201d said she, \u201chope you have a lovely\nday,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019ll be eating well tonight while making the rounds online,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without his knowledge or consent, her generosity was tainted,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helping the needy is cool, but social media clout\u2019s her main\nobjective,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chasing praises from the masses, the dopamine fix is highly\naddictive, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for every five likes there are far more of the opposite,\nconsider the plan backfired,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics are letting her have it, she still doesn\u2019t know it,\nbut she\u2019ll find out in a little while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good deeds with hidden motives, we\u2019re seeing \u2018em more often<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helping the downtrodden but we see you acting the paparazzi\non \u2018em,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s an empty gesture if you\u2019re just doing it for clout, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your audience ain\u2019t cheering or admiring, they\u2019re mocking\nand laughing out loud,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you did it out of kindness then you wouldn\u2019t need any\nwitnesses,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019re just fishing for compliments and backslaps from\nfriends and so-called followers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putting it on blast reeks of fakeness and arrogance, how\ntranslucent can you get?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using the less fortunate for your own selfish intentions?\nYou\u2019re a special breed of scum bucket,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in other cases you\u2019re just playing the space invader,\nrunning up on \u2018em like whatever,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How\u2019d you like it if you were hassled for no apparent\nreason? You\u2019d think they were a right little nuisance,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Better cut that out sooner rather than later, you\u2019re doing\nyourself no favors, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019re considered a major irritant across social media, how\ndoes that label work for ya?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indulge your ego elsewhere through different means, your\nactions aren\u2019t appreciated here,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Better you walked on by than using and abusing \u2018em, let the\nreal altruists tend to them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
She was out for a walk, alone with her thoughts, Five years retired already, been quite the journey, two years a widow now, unfortunately, Heard from the kids every now and then, grandkids loved her when they visited, Too long between reunions but life gets busy thanks to higher costs of living, Melancholy comes knocking … <\/p>\n