There are moments that forever
remain fresh in mind
As realistic as every other
occasion you cannot forget
Remembering the
electrifying ping of instant disbelief
Thinking you had misheard vocal
words of abject hate
Repetition simply
confirmed such bitterness first heard
This heavy pulsating blow impacts
hard on one’s being
Revulsion remains as perpetrators
show no contrition
Hemmed-in amid a buoyant
circle of raucous aggressors
An innocent bystander
feels the fear from a baying crowd
Survivalist instincts will
a physical body into an escape
Whilst inner scars of
victimisation are held tightly within
Discrimination knows no
bounds for the fearful victim…
Eileen T O’Neill
11/12/2019
"....electrifying ping of instant disbelief" That's a moment's work done indeed! You've captivated it perfectly.
ReplyDeleteYou have described one of life's most fearful moments: being the object of hatred. When will the day come that hatred will vanish from our world?
ReplyDeleteI agree that you capture these moments perfectly. May your poem help us to move outside of the way these cycles work--making fear is too easy. Letting go of it is difficult.
ReplyDeleteWe are surrounded by horrible rhetoric these days and it weighs down the spirit. One wonders what it will take to turn things around. Or if we even can, any more. I always love reading you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteSadly humans make this world so ugly. Somehow we must make our own world that ignores that, so we can enjoy our own life while we can.
ReplyDeleteEach line hit very close and familiar to me. "Revulsion remains as perpetrators show no contrition" stands out, though. Thank you for sparking a reflection of inner thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYou’ve captured the shock of being a victim, Eileen, in the line: ‘Remembering the electrifying ping of instant disbelief’. Why are human beings so hateful and hurtful?
ReplyDeletewords - lyrics - can be SO powerful - giving a crowd so much more energy. I feel the fear in this poem.
ReplyDeleteYou have absolutely captured a moment filled with many emotions.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to think of victimization.
Nice look on your website, Eileen.