Talisman VI of VIII
Pride
Funny.
You still believe
this happened to you.
As if these are wounds
we gathered
around your feet.
As if we came here
to mourn
what you became.
We didn’t.
This is only
a recounting.
The ways you stole.
The ways you ate.
The things
you harbored.
The names
you buried.
The hands
you left empty.
The mouths
you taught
to stay shut.
We have been telling you
what you did
and somehow
you kept hearing
what was done
to you.
That is your pride.
You could stand
in the middle
of every life
you ruined
and still ask
who hurt you.
You wore our grief
like evidence
of your suffering.
Turned every accusation
into another reason
to be pitied.
And the worst part?
You still think
you are listening.
You still think
you are learning.
You still think
this is a story
about your pain.
It isn’t.
We are only
reminding you
of the ways
you got here.
From Seven Ways to Be Damned
by Z.C. Mayson