Shades of Grey

 
When I was young,
I believed
That everything was right or wrong;
Good and bad; Yes or no;
Black or white.
It was easy to think that way.
How clever I thought I was
To be so enlightened and decisive,
To have an opinion on everything,
And to think that I was right.

When I grew older, 
I realised
That sometimes there's no right or wrong.
That some situations have no good outcome
Or happy ending.
That the answer can be both yes and no,
That manifold factors must be considered, and
That some questions have no answers.
I don't feel quite so clever any more
But have perhaps grown wiser 
Since I realised that life
Operates in shades of grey.