It would have been nice
For someone to have asked him
A question on occasion,
See how he’s doing,
What he thinks,
Instead of the obligatory lectures.
Not a single instance
Where his voice was
Deemed important enough
To listen to,
A dreary one-way conversation
The only practice.
He learns how to
Feel unimportant.
And just like that,
In the middle of lunch,
She realized that
Every time she felt
Like a loser it was
Because she had heard
That message over and over
And, not having the
Life experience to
Do anything else,
Had labeled herself
As deficient in some way
Because, after all,
They couldn’t be wrong.
If he can’t be happy
Then nobody else can.
They try to approach
Him but it’s no use,
He can only meet them
At a certain level,
The one his parents
Forced into him when
He had no choice.
A complete absence of self-awareness,
Manifesting as the total lack of
Ability to see the effect of one’s
Toxic actions on others,
Perpetuating an unchanging
Cycle of discomfort and suffering
Mangling anything in its path and
Rendering reason insignificant.
Swimming against a torrent,
The suffocating swirls of hurt
Pulling one down until
No self remains.
She remembers
The faces telling
Her who she is
And what she should do,
Messages interpreted
As truth rather
Than opinion.
Not sure she
Can do it,
She nevertheless
Gives it a try
And finds out that
She was capable of it
The whole time.
Their kids grow up
To do horrible things
Because that’s what
They saw the most important
People in their lives do,
There was never going to be
Another outcome,
Neuroses easily transmitted
Through a strict diet
Of authoritarianism
Passed off as love.
This, apparently,
Was the best time
To begin a harsh regimen
Of punishment,
Demonstration of might,
Imposition of hierarchy,
Insecurity chastising
The fruits of ignorance,
An avoidable problem created
By aloofness and disinterest,
Regrettable parenting,
The need to control
Eviscerating all else.
Shut up or I’ll
Give you something
To cry about.
That boy needs
Some sense
Knocked into him.
Innocence ripped
From terrified
Heart.
Eclipsing of
Kindness by
Brutality.
Scorched landscape
Devoid of
Hope.
A young man offered his being,
His vulnerable, exposed essence,
Pure, unadulterated by adult
Adulterators adulating duty.
His gift was considered for
Less than a millisecond and
Replaced by stringent rules of
Decorum and convoluted honor,
An imposition of boot on face.
Succumb to the tide as it draws
You beneath the waves.
