Trouble lies in feeling proud.
I was taught that it’s a sin
and that I shouldn’t share aloud
some gift with which I was endowed.
My gloating crow and Cheshire grin
burst that bubble, feeling proud.
Bragging rights? No one was wowed;
I lost those friends. I couldn’t win.
Better not to share aloud,
deflect my gifts amid the crowd.
But self-effacement wears me thin.
It’s trouble—a lie—to not feel proud.
There’s joy in peeking through a cloud
and beaming, now and then, to kin.
I can choose to share aloud
a well-earned pride to those avowed
by ties of birth or love within
and double down on feeling proud.
It’s blissful sin to share aloud.
—Barbara Lydecker Crane
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Don Lemon Gets the First Amendment Wrong
Don Lemon was arrested last week and charged with conspiracy against religious freedom. On January 18, an…
Goodbye, Childless Elites
The U.S. birthrate has declined to record lows in recent years, well below population replacement rates. So…
Postliberalism and Theology
After my musings about postliberalism went to the press last month (“What Does “Postliberalism” Mean?”, January 2026),…
