Courage well tempered

Intrepidity and folly are a danger,

Especially when trusting a stranger.

Courage   well tempered,

And follies remembered.

Keep us   less sullen than a  dog in a manger.

 

The attributes suited to war

In peacetime may look bizarre.

We can’t shoot our spouse

Because we have rows.

Nor have drone strikes  because life’s unfair.

 

The just war is permitted  by  Rome.

But there is no such thing inside  our homes.

If you are civil at all times

You  will  have committed no crimes.

Except when you borrowed my comb.

 

Boundaries or the lack of them err,

When everything’s ours and not theirs.

So you cannot define

What is ours and what’s mine

Without showing me  if you care.