A Poem of 3 Different Indivduals

(1st POV - The Victim's)



In this quiet night

There is a terror on the edge of the silence,

A terror caused by the stench of death.

I look around

My shoulders tense, my spine stiffens

The shadows rise

The whispers of the wind sharpen

And from out of sight

The predator jumps for its oblivious prey...



As the shadows float closer

From hidden corners

I prepare,

Heightening my senses.



I see their indistinguishable figures,

Smell their distinctive scent,

It is as sharp as fresh citrus -

I wrinkle my nose from the sore odor.



But oddly I could not hear a whisper,

They glided as stealthily as a lion

Hunting for its prey...



Sensing the nerves

Boiling deep in the pit of my stomach

I tightened my fists,

Sharpened my stance,

And stood strong.



I would not beg.

I would not give in.

And I would not lose.



When they charged

I met them blow for blow

Hit for hit

And strike for strike.



I was not weak

I was strong.

I was not frightened

I was brave.



I was a fighter-----



Or was I?



The first strike struck silently from behind,

Falling face first to the muddy ground of the empty street

A whimper tore out of my throat

As pain exploded in my spine.



Blows landed

Without pause

They were strong, unhesitant,

Brutal and unforgiving -

There was no sympathy

In the way they struck repeatedly.



I laid and I waited

Wishing it would stop

Thinking 'Maybe soon the pain will cease',

But it didn't.



Umph Umph Umph



With each punch, hit and blow to the gut, head and back

Mutters and whimpers of excruciating pain

Wheezed past my parted lips.

My lungs tightened like a twisting knot of ropes

As I gasped in desperate need for air.



You know the saying

'Your life flashes before your eyes just before you die'?

I always took its genuineness for granted,

Until now.



Flashes of memories,

Ones tasteful and others bitter,

Played under my tightly closed lids.

Some more painful than any physical pain,

Some that made my heart ache

More than any blazing blow to the chest could.









The cheery laughs of my little dwarfs.

The beautiful, wide grins,

Present to greet me with their blinding brightness

Each delightful morning.



The promises hastily made,

Some paid for

And some...

Not just yet.



Would I be able to keep those small but significant promises?

Or would I have to break them?

'But was it your first time to break a promise?'

My subconscious knew the truth.



I knew the answer,

And with it came the familiar sense of remorse and guilt.

No, it was not the first time

I broke a hastily made promise of mine



From each fresh wound

I felt the blood flow swiftly

Seeping to the dirty ground of this quiet night.

Turning my eyes from the sickening sight

Of my own wasted blood.

I looked at the masked face of my foreign foe



Maybe I did deserve this pain

After all, I really was at fault,

Letting cheap words

Fall out of my mouth.



Broken promises,

My body could not keep,

But my mouth kept going,

Writing cheques

I knew I would not pay



And that was how

I lost half of me

My other wonderful half

My significant one







The one

I should have let the world fall at its feet

But instead,

I let it slip through my sinful fingers.



My sight blurred

My thoughts shuffled messily

Then, after a moment of blissful numbness

The last blow struck -



A knife to my wounded gut.



I felt the agonizing pain of the knife

Driving in, up to its lethal heel

I heard the hiss of its metallic body

Slicing into my skin.



And as blood flowed as fast as a faucet being turned to its fullest

The raw pain took over,

My hazy mind started to seep into unconsciousness

And as I lifted my eyes lazily

They met the blurred sight of the moon.



Low in the sky it hung

Gazing silently down

Sadness reflecting from its pale and tired face.

Thinking the same thoughts as I for the last time...



'I wish I had chosen a different path.

I wish reality was a dream.

I wish I had a stronger will.

I wish I would stop living in fear

Of myself

Of others

And of tomorrow.'





















(2nd POV - The Witness's)



It's kind of like Dvu

I want to get away from this place,

I do

But I can't

And I won't.



The blood

The muskiness in the air

The screams of pain



The strangled voices yelling 'Help!'

The hope leaving their eyes

Just as fast as life did



It was all so familiar

Except then,

It was under the watchful eye of the sun

And now,

It is under the dull light of the moon.



How ironic was it?

How people thought,

How they hoped

Monsters only came at night



But that wasn't reality

Reality was cruel

Reality was what we hoped

Could be only a dream

So we escape from reality

And we run into our own

World of wishful dreams...























Thump Thump Thump



My heartbeats in my ears

Like the loud banging of a trumpet,

My legs shaking so terribly

I believed they would give out,

I stepped forward.



My body quivering with fear,

I stood.

My throat as dry as a desert,

I spoke.



'The police will be here any minute!' I said

'You should flee before you get caught!' I said

And when they looked at me with suspicious, glaring eyes,

'I am not lying' I said.



I was so proud of myself.

My voice,

It was made of steel.

My eyes,

They were as hard as granite.



They were both

Empty of the fear,

The uncertainty

And the underlying worries

Of being caught in my brave lies.



They exchanged fleeting looks

It was just a flicker of the eyes

Flickers they thought I did not see,

But they were wrong.



These looks...

These secret looks

Were filled with the same worry,

The uncertainty

And the fear I felt.



My tense shoulders relaxed

My heartbeats slowed

And I suppressed a triumph grin.





I had planted those negative emotions

Those doubt filled thoughts in their minds

I had saved that poor, poor man

From being killed so brutally.



For once,

I was a hero------



Or was I?



I watched

As they pummeled him

Their bloody fists flying

Their booted feet

Kicking him mercilessly.



I stared

At the pools of blood

At his face,

Scrunched up so tightly

Jaw ticking so visibly

Features contorted

With so much anguish.



I listened

To his strangled screams

His low whimpers

And guttural sounds of pain.



I watched

I stared

And I listened

But I did not move

I did not speak

And I could not breathe.



Should I?

Or shouldn't I?



The thought was like a mantra

I repeated it in my head.



Should I?

Or Shouldn't I?

With another punch to the gut,

Blood spilled from between his swollen lips

I winced

My gut twisted

And sweat beads dripped from my forehead



Should I?

Or shouldn't I?



I heaved a tortured sigh

Why was I so cowardly?



I had promised myself

That fateful night

If I ever saw

That scary and sad sight again

I wouldn't stand

And I wouldn't stare

I would stride

And I would speak



But here I am

For the second time

Being dominated

By my own fears

Hiding behind a brick wall



It was all that protected me

But it was also

What fueled my hesitancy.



I could run.

I could walk away.

Turn my back.



Pretend,

I hadn't seen

I hadn't heard

Pretend,

I didn't know the outcome

Of this momentous night.



Just like I once did...





Should I?

Or shouldn't I?



My thoughts halted

As my ears miffed

At the boisterous sound

Of a tormented scream



I turned my head

To the wretched sound



My heart lurched in my chest

As I froze in my spot

My eyes widened

And a stifled gasp

Left my tightened throat



The man's body

Dead body...

Rested on the ground

Surrounded

By its own absent blood

As it lay looking as frail as paper.



I propped my woozy head

Against the wall at my back

As I tried to breath in air

And resisted against the urge

To empty the contents

Of my stomach



Too late...

I was way too late...

Just like I had been before.



I had stood there

Unsuccessfully

Trying to battle my fears

As life left his body



No,

I was no hero

I was still the same,



An unjustifiable excuse of a man.



And as I walked away

My head tipped downward in shame

Over my overweighed shoulders



The same thoughts

From that fateful night

Ran through my mind...



'I wish I had chosen a different path.

I wish reality was a dream.

I wish I had a stronger will.

I wish I would stop living in fear

Of myself

Of others

And of tomorrow.'



























































(3rd POV - The Criminal's)



My head turned

To the blossoming

Sound of laughter



It filled my heart

With happiness

And brought a smile

As big and as bright

As the sun

To my face.



How I loved to hear that sound?

It was as magical as music,

So soft and joyful.



My seeking gaze

Settled on the beaming face

Of my little midget.



Walking up to her

I scooped her up

Into the protective circle

Of my arms.



Her tiny little fingers

And the warm palm of her hand,

That held all my dreams

Pressed against my cheek.



Her pair of big, round

Sapphire blue eyes

Looked up at me.



They were the window

To a soul

That knew only

Of truth.



And at this very moment

They stared up at me

With love and pride

Shining radiantly

In their innocent depth.



My heart swelled.



I was looked at that way

By an angel

As pure as her.



My life was perfect,

I was in heaven---



Or was I?



Heaven falls right from under my feet

As I am thrown back into hell.



The piercing sound of a scream

Bled my ears with its volume



And my eyes...

They couldn't seem to see

Behind this curtain of red

It was as red as blood

Maybe it was blood

Maybe it was just ravenous anger



And violence...

It was the only way I knew

To feed it.



I tightened my fists even further

My knuckles

Becoming as white as plain paper

Pushing against the swollen skin of my hand.



Swinging my fist forward

It connected with bones

Bones that snapped under mine.



My lips curled at the sound

That sound was familiar

That sound,

Made my breath shorten,

My blood rush,

And a familiar thrill

Roll through my body deliciously.



It made my swings quicken

In adrenaline,

Anticipation...



It was the pleasuring sensation

Of power,

Of strength.



I needed it

And I welcomed it

With all my might.



I breathed it in

Like it was air

I starved for it

Like it was an addiction



And it became my cocaine

I couldn't quit

I wanted more every little bit

And it turned me into a monster.



I looked at the man's unfamiliar face

At his eyes

They were growing dull

The life that once occupied them,

Now parting slowly.



I looked down at the knife

I had plunged into his gut

At the pools of blood

Lying by his dying body,

Soon to be a rotten corpse.



This time

I wasn't smiling

I was struck by the truth

Of what I had become



Just like each time...











This man,

The one I had just killed

In cold blood

The one I had tortured

Slowly and cruelly



'He possibly had a family, too' I thought

Like I once had...



That's when it really hit me



I was no different

Than that man

I had once called a monster.

The one

Who stole everything I had,

Who stole the single motive I had

For living.



I looked down

At my own bloody hands

These weren't just the hands of a man

They were the repellent hands

Of a killer.



I stood on shaky legs

As I looked down

At the corpse

Of my latest victim.



There was no more room

For regret

Or remorse.



I felt numb

Cold

Insensible



I was a ghost

With no purpose

But to destroy people's lives.



I was in hell.





Feeling nauseous

I turned around

And looked at the shadowed street,

The only witness

To my unforgivable crime.



And I walked away

Thinking the same thoughts

I thought every night

Of my miserable life...



'I wish I had chosen a different path.

I wish reality was a dream.

I wish I had a stronger will.

I wish I would stop living in fear

Of myself

Of others

And of tomorrow.'