“Mind your manners”, I grew up being taught,
You will be liked, your company sought.
Say “Sorry”, “Pardon” and all your “Thank you”s,
“May I?”, “Excuse Me” … watch those Ps and Qs.

Be courteous, be patient, and always polite,
Don’t ever be loud, be gentle and quiet.
Do hold the door for those walking behind you,
And never, oh never, jump your place in a queue.

I listened, I learned and I did believe
“Manners make the person”… it’s the way to live.
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Yes. The world is full of courteous people, I see
Manners are very important, they all agree.
There are the “Sorry”s, the “May I”s and so many “Excuse Me”s,
Out pop the “Thank you”s, as pretty as you please.

But hey! what’s this? what am I missing?
Manners are just words, just a way of speaking?
So often a gap in what people say and they feel,
What they do, and they don’t… a different sentiment reveal.

So hard the gratitude, yet so prompt the “Thank You”.
A polite “excuse me”, even as they trample over you!
No real warmth, beneath many a smile
So many sweet words, underlined by guile.
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Manners are nice, but oh let’s not bother
If we can’t find it in us to really care about another.
Words are just words, manners an empty shell
What we think… we feel… we do, does the true story tell.

“Mind your manners” I was taught, and yet now find
What we should’ve been taught was “mind your mind”,
“Mind what you think”, and do “mind your heart”
Lest caring for people become a lost art.

– Madhuri