Don’t cry for the kid I was.
He was weak. An old man
had to teach that kid
his eyes wouldn’t be dried
by caring hands,
and his skin needed to be trained
to be harder than the fists that hit it.
I made my own lullabies
from the cracking of skulls,
the stomping of boots,
and cries for mercy.
I made lesser things
scream the pain I didn’t allow
myself to show, peaceful
until the next time anger howled
in my brain, demanding prey.
(i can’t punch hard enough to save her)
Heaven gave me hell.
I’m just returning the favor.
Song Choice: Behind Blue Eyes by The Who
This poem was inspired by the prompt (I created!) over at Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads: The Villain Speaks. I chose Turk, the Neo-Nazi character from Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. The poem also borrowed inspiration from a line spoken by the villain from one of my favorite animes, Nakago from Fushigi Yuugi ( "I'll have my revenge against the heaven which has only given me hell"), who, when I thought about it, had a fair bit in common with Turk, both being hurt children who grew up to do terrible things as a way to deal with their pain. This poem is also linked up to Poets United Poetry Pantry 349.
