The Punished Become The Punishers

09 December 2025

https://poems.culturing.net/2025/12/the-punished-become-the-punishers/

A witch from my past haunts my sight,
a malignant narcissist, hellbent on ruining others
for sport. True, I had my revenge, and I left
with my head held high, but no other has wounded me
with quite so much verve and aplomb...no other
deserves more the fires of hell in which she lives.
I can hardly imagine the damage she wreaks
on those stuck in her thrall for too long.
She is darkness, the Mother's shadow, a snuff
for all light, and her foul stench entices out
demons of every kind. I can only pity her,
but even this pity would fall on deaf ears
or be twisted in some wicked gossip.
She longs to be whole, I can see it...
for her though the journey begins and ends
in hell, where the punished become the punishers
and life remains far out of reach.

I escaped,
and I learned how to trust again.