Hollow flatterers

Hollow flatterers,
Do absolutely nothing for me.
Maybe because I've observed them before,
From childhood.
Those people showing their toothy smiles.
As if friends.
And behind someone's back,
They flap their lips loosely with gossip to attack

Compliments not honesty,
They perceive as a correct thing done.
But a sincerity felt in truth...
Is disconnected from them,
And this they can not do to show to anyone.

And as I age with a clarity,
That is daily wisening...
I see the hollow flatterers empty of depth and deed.
And wonder I do to myself as I observe...
Do these people realize others through them can see?
Flapping their lips loosely with gossip...
Yet deceptive as they practice,
A self righteous hypocrisy.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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