hate
you and your hate
you and your words and your hate
you and your eyes and your hate
your eyes and your snarl and your words and your hate
the beast that feeds on and fuels all your hate
it coils like a cobra inside you, hissing and writhing
it slithers through your innards till you spit it out
and it jumps at me and squeezes out my air.
i gasp and i jerk while you watch with a smirk
because brutality is your favorite show;
they silently stare while you grin in your chair
and the beast brings down blow after blow.
i stand, i burn, on the floor, i endure
the hate that you pour– so distilled, so pure
your poisonous prose has such an allure
to all those invited to your side of the door.
by your eyes, i’m crucified
frozen in time, dehumanized
i’m petrified till you slink inside
and take your wretched beast with you.
your words are disguised, you mesmerize
a silent killer sends a subtle demise.
jabbing me with daggers that only i can see
while the pearl-clutchers cry “but he’s so nice to me!!”
as i die a slow death of a thousand cuts
i hate that your hate isn’t hateful enough.
i’m guilted and goaded to make myself small
so that you have ample space for your hate.
i blink and buffer as the pearl-clutchers stutter
“i don’t want you to see him this way.”
my lungs fill with smoke and i start to choke
as they rush to your defense.
hate catches like fire, you build the walls higher
and feign shock at my fence.
you know that i know what you’ve always thought
i know that you know they’ve learned what you’ve taught.
you brew hate and cultivate compliance and silence
so my mere defiance is viewed as violence.
you
you malicious machiavellian you
you “product of your environment” you
forcing me to forgive what you’ve put me through.
i smile, i’m graceful, your flock remains faithful
and your creature of hate builds a nest in my chest.
you may have bested me, just this time,
with your baleful eyes and your saccharine surprise
but don’t you think that i’ll ever forget.