Mr Nice Guy

© Rolf Hendriks January 25, 2015

You’re such a
Nice Guy
you’re pleasant and polite
You’re such a
Nice Guy
you never have to fight

you never offend,
when you’re upset you pretend
everything is OK
and then you shuffle away
but as you nod and you smile
your eyes will give you away

You’re such a
Nice Guy
everything you say is nice.
You’re such a
Nice Guy
all your thoughts are thought twice

The first thought you had
what first came to your head
you wanted to say
but then you held back instead
because you thought of the thoughts
thought in strangers’ strange heads.

doublethink, doublethink,
all your thoughts are doublethink,
be nice, think twice,
cover your thoughts in sugar and spice,
cover your words, cover your woes,
cover them from head to toes
in zero calorie Sucralose
or Listerine, or Chloraseptic,
or anything that’s antiseptic.

You’re such a
Nice Guy
you’ve never had to fight
You’re such a
Nice Guy
you’ve learned the art of flight

you’ve been fleeing from strife
for many a year
when you think of dissent
your feet are are frozen from fear

a fear to upset
a fear to incite
a fear to proclaim
what you hold wrong or right

a fear to stand up
a fear to stand out
a fear to stand ground
when you’ve been singled out

You’re such a
Nice Guy
you’re never thinking of yourself
You’re such a
Nice Guy
you’re never thinking for yourself

when was the last time
that you voiced your dissent
and you held your head high
as you gave your ‘not I’?

when was the last time
that you stood, all alone,
against all of the world
and you still held your own?

when was the last time
that you’ve strayed from your herd
and unlearned all you’ve heard
just to speak your own word?

when was the last time
that you followed a dream
and risked losing face,
or failure, or worse?

when was the last time,
or when will be the first?
The first time you drop
the pretense you show?
when will be the first time
you’ve ever said no?

You’re such a
Nice Guy.