Perception is Power | Teen Ink

Perception is Power

June 19, 2012
By NadiaAlmasalkhi BRONZE, Louisville, Kentucky
NadiaAlmasalkhi BRONZE, Louisville, Kentucky
3 articles 0 photos 6 comments

I may be locked
Caged
But I watch through the bars.
Look me in the eyes
See the fire
Smell the gunpowder
Hear the explosion
Just as my gaze pierces you.
Let the blood drain
As you hit the floor.
Feel the blood soaking your shirt
And wonder at the hollowness of your life
Sense a shift in the air
And know that you caused this.
Try to move your legs
And fail.
Revel in your weakness.
Admire the slowing beat in your chest.
Gawk at your cold pale hands
Covered in ashes and blood
Not only your own.
Be crushed by the weight.
Feebly resist your heavy eyelids.
And with your last morsel of strength
You lift your head
Towards the source of your ruin
And you will see me
Staring at you from behind those
Flimsy bars
And your last thought will be filled with terror
As you realize
That I have seen you.


The author's comments:
This poem is about being oppressed, but while the narrator is physically locked away, he/she finds a way to be mentally and spiritually above the oppressor, and therefore unaffected and ultimately stronger than those who try to use their power to stifle him/her.

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This article has 3 comments.


on Jun. 25 2012 at 4:10 pm
I've thought about this poem for a couple minutes now, and I feel like I can really relate to it. Especially the ending when she finally sees him for what he is and just...I don't know. I really got it. Thanks for sharing.

on Jun. 25 2012 at 2:58 pm
omg i got chills reading this.

on Jun. 25 2012 at 2:42 pm
Wow. You had me at the first three lines, love. Keep writing because you obviously have a talent.