continuum

bruises & cigarette burns
a world full of violence
seen with youthful eyes
near the beginning of a life
learning the ropes &
watching how the abuser
gets away with the abuse
learning how the abuser
bent on self-destruction &
the destruction of others
finds their way around a life of
subtle self-hatred, where finding any peace
means finding another to harm &
the cycle is passed on,
the addiction is multiplied---
cast out like a dirty rag
by those around them, by a society that calls itself
civilized, cast out by those that
raised them, they follow by
casting out their own,
after beating them within an inch of their life &
into the state system
like parent, like child
a new way of functioning is discovered
where getting the wrong card drawn
becomes the clear impetus for
survival of the fittest &
learning to hold your own is not only
required, it is something to take pleasure in,
because this way of stepping on others
to crush them like ants,
though it bloodies the knuckles,
it asserts power in the hands of the rejected
it asserts power in the hands of a real human being
who has already been deemed a bottom feeder,
whose chance to rise up is stifled or made frustrating
at every junction possible &
that first infringement upon the complacent calm of the
rest of us,
brings with it a penalty that is irrelevant,
as to be confined within walls will only breed more anger
it will only cause the need for an assertion of the power
over others through violence
to be that much more important
both inside & when we spit them out
again.