Poem: None of it was necessary

None of it was necessary

I did not need to go there
and did not need to stay
or to argue with that woman,
though I hope it mattered
and she heard me,
heard that it is possible
to think in other ways
and hold truths
as righteous as those
she claims for herself.
I did not need to.
It might have been best
to stay quiet.  It is probable
I am worse off,
or that what she will learn
is nothing I intended.
I do not trust myself
to make the right choice.
I was enflamed.
I hope I am wrong,
but I think
I courted a danger
that will not vanish.

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