Respect

Showers of admiration

How great you are

You are put on a pedestal

That is not respect

Slaps on back

Praises from the crowd

You find yourself in the center

That is not respect

An audience lends their ears

To stories of your feats

You become the sole speaker

Attention is not respect

Love of family and friends

Who do all to keep you happy

You are the center of their universe

Love is not respect

Praise, admiration, attention

And even love, are not respect

These are given, taken

for a motive or it is so.

Respect is unique

it can only be Earned

the hardest to receive

and fastest to burn.