Knowing your friends from your enemies: The Baker

Humans, animals, plants, even aliens many learn to love, and many learn to hate,

To be for one another or to talk against,

For this is the story of one such human,

A story of laughter could it be, a story of tragedy maybe not,

For it is up to us to deem as we see fit,

But what we learn will be that which will soon help us think,

The baker and his friends, how interesting do you reckon this will be?

A bright Sunday morning the baker rises from sleep,

The usual routine is evident but surely all that we can miss,

As he hopes to get ready a million thoughts compel him,

For the life of a man is complicated, none that we would want to envy.

He thinks about friends and family. Those he likes and those he could give or take,

But then he whispers, “who am I to judge, everyone has made some mistakes,”

In his solemn mind, he judges not only what he thinks of them but how they might think of him,

And he sits down and says, “hmm... but they've all been rather kind to me.”

But for all humans know, pretense is a way of life,

Before you ever trust, take time to think, how would they treat you if their character clearly portrayed “swollen with strife?”

Alas he makes his usual trip to the train where he meets his two friends who he thought loved him

just as dear.

But guess what, before he was there, the words they both uttered would have made him aware,

That people are people and what they think you may not know, which is reason enough to beware.

Who knows, probably there are good honest people somewhere else in the world with thoughts as clean as air.

They meet and they talk like friends would do,

He asked about what he had seen them saying and naturally they withheld a great deal,

For if he knew the contents of their minds he may have ran, would you?

But then he smiled for unbeknownst to even I, all they had said he knew very well,

His knowledge of their secrets he revealed.

And he laughed aloud and said, “no worries for I think the very same of you,”

For both his friends were in shock and for a moment shed a look of doubt and suspicion on each other.

They both pleaded forgiveness,

And the baker answered, “humans are bread and our thoughts flour. We are all uniform, explainable and our thoughts ever malleable.”

And the two stood in awe trying hopelessly to understand the meaning behind the baker's example,

And when they realized it, they all laughed and for the first time spoke freely among themselves,

For a heavy weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

But to this day I am still confused for I had figured that their friendship would’ve ended right there,

“Why did it not?” You may ask.

Even I do not know. For the essence of friendship bears the most eclectic of meanings.