Be Wary Young Men

To say, ‘I love you,’ is easy to say when we want something. 
If you have a conscience, be wary young men – pray to keep it!
When first used, those three words are most persuasive and powerful.
If meant, the words are as purest gold
The conscience is preserved for further cultivation,
providing a bountiful harvest throughout the days of your lives.
However, if those words are not meant
– said only to manipulate others –
they are most destructive,
not only to others… but your own souls.

To say ‘I love you,’ to your soul, and mean it, is a gift of God,
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
Those who seek such gains do so in peril of searing, if not ultimately losing, their consciences.
Sadly, many have brought ruin to their neighborhoods, families and friends because they lost their consciences.
You see, the presence of our conscience is evidence of God’s holiness,
given to direct us, guide us, and yes, to correct us when we don’t listen.
So, be wary young men.  Love your soul. Preserve it.
One should fear, not celebrate the evidence of the silencing of that inner voice.
For the day shall come that those who keep their souls will find them saved
and the soulless man shall meet his end.

Millpond Ink Poetry, 2016 (edited, May 2022)