Conflict of Interest

Your dear friend has just accomplished a feat

Getting a book published is pretty neat

You, as a reader and a loyal friend

Buy the book immediately, you intend

To make it a priority to read it, it’s obvious

That to know what your friend has written, you’re curious

*

You start the book, quite excited but find

The book does not really engage your mind

The plot seems amateurish, the writing too verbose

You stick with reading, but cannot wait to close

The book after the last chapter is read

You feel a bit let down, you are not impressed

Then you remind yourself that your friend

Deserves to be applauded for this effort, you must extend

Grace to them-seasoned authors most of the time you read

But everyone starts somewhere indeed

*

You send a message to your friend that you

Have read the book, and enjoyed it too

Of course the way things work these days

Your friend requests you to post a review, that’s the way

A book gets noticed, and authors make their name

You cannot refuse a contribution to your friend’s fame…

*

You see there are only a handful of reviews, they are all positive

Even under a pseudonym, you are afraid you cannot give

An honest review, because your friend would instantly know

That it came from you, it could hurt their feelings, and so

You give 4.5/5 stars, then try to write a detailed review

Trying to focus on what you really liked, but that’s hard to do

So you end up using the generic terms you use

To respond to social media posts and photographs, you refuse

To put in complete lies and you decide at the end

You would not review another book by a friend…

*

There is a reason why conflict of interest is a thing

Honest opinions can cracks in relationships bring…