He beats the weakened man

who cries to himself, when alone.

He pushes him into the open

where stones are thrown.

He calls the man a failure,

and reminds him of his shame.

He reminds him of should haves and could haves,

and those bad choices that fuel pain.

This man is relentlessly pushing

the man to fear and doubt,

but the ridicule and slander

encourage a way out.

A place of peace is what he begins to long for,

away from the abuse at hand.

When the time is right, he will go there…

Is there such a place so grand?

He got away from his abuser one day,

and he ran from his confines.

He ran far, collapsed and fell asleep

with safety upon his mind.

When he awoke, he was imprisoned!

Again, he was in the clinch

of the man who kept him DOWN,

and whom would soon seize every inch

of the prisoner who was never really restrained;

who was never locked away.

You see, the confine was his thoughts

as he went about each day.

The chain that bound him was the thinking,

and the prison was his mind.

The man who held him captive

was himself all this time.

---

He chained himself to the emptiness

and went back in his stall,

where his captor beat him daily;

where the torture did enthrall.

He needed the nurturing punishment —

abuse was the comfort he embraced.

It was much more soothing than the freedom

that he tried to face.

He never tried to run again…

no…

that would take the courage not possessed.

He stayed there in the confines,

oppressed.