Thieves

They're all around us

Hiding in plain sight. 

They charm us with their deceptions 

And woo the vulnerable. 

And then when they're certain the shepherds left the flock

They take what isn't theirs

Lock it up

And keep it 

Just to say it's theirs. 

They didn't even like it. 

Not sincerely. 

They just didn't want to go away empty handed.

So they try to change it

And mold it into this or that

Until they look at it's disfigurement

And mumble something about, how it isn't anything like it used to be. 

And still they hold into it

And revel in their ownership. 

Despite knowing someone else might actually appreciate it's beauty. 

But they appreciate that others desire it. 

They're fine to let it sit, solitary and unwanted

Collecting dust on a shelf

A life unlived and unloved 

All because a thief took what wasn't theirs and should have belonged to another.