Pretty clothing and
Loving words
Words that make you swell with
Happiness and pride
Words that make you feel
Loved and appreciated
Words that make you feel
Lucky and desired
They’re so beautiful
Picture perfect
Their smiles so sincere
And welcome
Clothing flawless
And unwrinkled
They put on a show
For the public
Stares of envy and awe
Follow you
And you smile
Because you have to
Because you have to
Because if you don’t
Put on your show
They’ll kill you
In a thousand
Little ways
They’ll hurt you
Beat you
Until your body’s
Black and blue
Until you’re nothing
But a shivering shadow
On a cold
Dark ground
They’ll make you feel
As if it’s your fault
It’s all your fault
As if you’re too weak
And ungrateful
And you’ll believe them
Every little word
Because they are
Your gods
Your life
Your survival
And yet their threats still
Ring in your ears
Their harsh words
Lashing mercilessly
Invisibly
Against your skin
Their laughs of
Ridicule ricochet harshly
Angrily
Through your mind
So you’ll take their hands
Obediently
And you’ll smile
Smile as hard as you can
And let them dress you up
And whisper sweet nothings in your ears
And let them show the world the perfect you
And hide away the broken one
The real one
And you’ll let them
Beat you
Batter you
Bruise you
And you’ll still smile
All the way through
But you don’t blame them
They’re Monsters
And that’s
What Monsters
Do