this weeks writers island prompts worked well together for me…. i originally wrote this as a prose piece,, but the line breaks became necessary in order to punctuate it properly when the peice is spoken…
try reading it out loud….
there have been times in this life,,
when i have been inhabited
by a rather ferocious identity…
times i found myself blinded
by selfishness,, or anger,, or drugs,,
or a dangerous cocktail
made up of immeasurable quantities
of all of them….
there have been times
i am willing to admit,,
that you had reason to fear me,,
as i had nothing to lose,,
and you had better hope,,
i did not want what you had…
the problem
with having been that person,,
is even tho i know
i am not her any more,,
i understand now,
that all of us have
that inner beast,,
that animal,,
that will do
what it has to do,,
to survive..
most of us will
never be pushed that far,,,
most of us will
never know what it feels like
to lose all sense of right and wrong,,
to be blinded with addiction,,
desire,, anger,, hatred…
but i assure you,,
no matter who you are,,,
it could,,
and will
happen to you,,
given the right set of circumstances…
so as you experience
people that you don’t understand,,
people who have made
what you judge
to be ill thought out lifestyle choices,,
people that you pride yourself,,
that you are not,,
my suggestion to you would be,
to take a good long look
at that person
that stares back at you from the mirror….
you see,,
i know who the person is that’s staring back at me..
i have seen my inner beast…
i know what she is capable of..
i know what evil
can come to life in a mind
if the right set of circumstance provides itself..
but most of all…
i know,,
i am just like you…
and it could very well be you,,
that has that lesson yet to learn….
photo:
http://tweedsocks.deviantart.com/art/Inner-Beast-20065764
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:24 am
Thought-provoking and well said and, of course, very true.
Jos last blog post..Miramon
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:13 am
paisley,
The Yin and Yang of ourselves!
http://angel-feathers-tickle-me.blogspot.com/2008/04/grateful.html
rel
rels last blog post..
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:51 am
ooooh Baby, this was chilling! This was a fantastic, honest poem Jodi, we DO all have an inner beast and NO ONE should judge someone elses actions till they’ve walked in their exact shoes. That you’ve survived taming your inner beast, I think you are triumphantly a more compassionate human being than many who have not yet seen theirs. wait.. I need to re-read this amazingly powerful poem. ♥
lucys last blog post..Family Lost = Family Found
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:57 am
Really good!
Noahs last blog post..Encapsulated
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:42 am
excellent insight…it could happen to anyone!
superjen is thinking about writing something for ferocious…grrr….LOL
Just Jens last blog post..Identity for Writer’s Island
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:32 am
this was perfect, as we are all truely capable of the unthinkable. i was surprised by your comment on my latest poems, i didn’t intend for them to be so dark, but i guess sometimes darkness is all that comes out of me.
Leigh Lears last blog post..I feel like I could collapse….
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:42 am
Much thanks for noticing my typo.
I can identify with you and your other self. Within me is a very dark void which I live with daily. I can find no way out, no way to fill this void but try to hide it. Yes this is all there is for me. My only escape is sleep and reading.
Beloved Dreamer-Melanies last blog post..Spin…..Dried
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:45 am
Under right circumstances…or should it have been wrong circumstances?
Point(s) to ponder over…
gautami tripathys last blog post..dog and (wo)man——Writers Island
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:26 am
“to lose all sense of right and wrong,,
to be blinded with addiction,,”
I did …..Im still working on my sense of right and wrong.
meleah rebeccahs last blog post..Pick A Lane
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:43 am
I have met my inner beast and I actually look at people who have sailed through life unscathed with concern. They judge and yet I don’t see them being able to handle anything horrific after years of living in a bubble.
I can still taste that very same cocktail!
Excellent!
Tammys last blog post..Writer’s Island - "Identity"
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
that you gives you thought..because as you said there is a piece of that in everyone..circunstances dictate if it comes out..
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
This really packs a thought-provoking punch!
Sorry I’ve not been around of late - a few things have kept me from blogging recently!
DBA Lehanes last blog post..Writer’s Note: 3 May 2008
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Very true. The best we can hope for is to never have to get that up close and personal with the beast we all carry within.
Robins last blog post..Finding myself
May 3rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
I know her well. She has been safely subdued for many, many years, but she remains a part of me all the same.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I am only too aware that my ‘beast within’ has made a bid for freedom on far too many occasions. An interesting piece which really had me thinking
keith hillmans last blog post..ferocious
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I think you and I are on the same wavelink. I was just thinking about this a few days ago. And it is a frightening thing, to really examine. I often wonder what kind of “stuff” I am made of. Would I show courage during certain circumstances or would I succumb to the situation. I’d like to think I am made of stronger “stuff”, but you never really know, unless you experience it. btw, I’m going to do a link to your page.
I’m enjoying your work!
White Roses last blog post..Fool’s Gold
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Reading your post, puts me on reflective mood. When I was younger, the beast and I are two. Now, when the beast appeared I let it go asap. Well written cause it evoke such thoughts in your reader.
ratanaongs last blog post..Phil Vassar
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Bravo! I felt almost like I was watching a film noir while I read this. It deals with so many important themes, but the ones that stand out to me are that we are all more alike than we are different, and the victory of pulling ourselves back from the brink gives us compassion for those still on the edge. This was stark in its condemnation of hypocrisy and yet hopeful–at least the way I read it.
chicklegirls last blog post..A meme and a poem
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Very powerful piece. I am very afraid of you.
Myrtle Beach Ramblingss last blog post..Sunday Scribblings - Family - 5/04/08
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
A ferocious identity? Hmmm… perhaps we all have different identities in different phases of out lives. We act and react differently as time passes by, I guess.
Auds last blog post..Fierce Love Poems
May 4th, 2008 at 12:09 am
A fierce and beautiful truth.
May 4th, 2008 at 12:19 am
That was powerful - our defences can manifest themselves extremely, no matter how reasonable we believe we are.
stan skis last blog post..WI Ferocious
May 4th, 2008 at 12:23 am
This works very well as a poem, although I could see it working as prose, too. There’s so much in this piece. I like the last part. Far too often “they” tell us it’s our problem when it’s really “their’s”! And of course, we don’t realize it until much later.
BTW, sorry I haven’t been around. I’ve been on the road.
Corinas last blog post..Angels
May 4th, 2008 at 4:02 am
This is so true. We all have it within us. Excellently done.
AnthonyNorths last blog post..THE ALIEN IN THE BOOK
May 4th, 2008 at 5:49 am
I really liked the way you ended this, something which we all got to learn, the inner beast does exist in all of us, sooner we see it, sooner we know how to get over it
ramblers last blog post..Handicapped
May 4th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
wow!! that was well done…
u write too well…and i’m giving up poetry…my inner beast used to be a poet…
loved every word of this…:)
sumas last blog post..My daddy strongest…
May 4th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Oh yes, we all have a dark side. I have been on that side. The ferocity and power that lies in that place is intense, immense. And terrifying. I try to stay in the light as often as I can. Brilliant piece from you as always.
Selmas last blog post..May Day, May Day.
May 5th, 2008 at 2:44 am
… we’re all capable off the unthinkable given the right circumstances and once the beast is released it’s hard to keep it contained again … very good and offering a lot to refelect upon
Fennys last blog post..The Woman In The Mirror
May 5th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Yes! We do all have an inner beast. I met mine when my first husband cheated on me then walked out leaving me with 2 young children. I had no idea I could think the thoughts I did at that time. Quite scarey, looking back, what could have been!
But it is good to know that beast, I feel. And then you know how to tame it.
It is denial of the inner beast that is the worst!
Gemma
Gemmas last blog post..Happiness is a strange country
May 6th, 2008 at 7:01 am
oh the inner beast within us. sometimes it unleashes without us knowing. yes, people will always have their own opinion. at the end of the day, its only you who can decide if you are fine with it or not. great post.
totomais last blog post..Sabong
May 8th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Very thought provoking Paisley. I agree with Gemma . To accept and recognise the beast is in one’s best interests . Only then one can learn to deal with it when it rear’s its ugly head .
Shubds last blog post..A Tigress.