It is too easy to be hurt

It is too easy to be hurt

By every little thing

That is thrown your way.

Words are just opinions,

But they can be barbed

With poison

And eat away at your resistance.

Laced with bile and vitriol

They sneak in, below

Your best defences,

Find the sensitive places,

Curl up in an empty cell,

And wait for the moment

Someone rings a bell.

And like an elephant

In a ball room,

Or a moose,

On the loose,

In a china shop,

They lash right out,

Use every dirty word

You ever heard,

To bring you down.

Why let them?

Is it because they are the

Echoes of your own

Dark fears,

Before you dried your tears,

When you were at the mercy

Of other peoples failings.

The blowhard’s and bullies

Who marked your card.

And no matter how

Hard you tried,

Never gave you credit

For your effort.

So much so,

Whatever you did,

No matter how good

You were,

Self doubt, would push

Feelings of accomplishment

Right out.

What a waste,

It makes you miss

Every single compliment,

And instead, hear only

The noise of wags and critics,

Who taunt and complain,

Until nothing else remains,

But a disturbing combination,

Of resignation and relief,

Because you never quite lost

The belief,

Deep down, inside,

Hidden beneath the well versed act,

You were in fact,

Not quite good enough.

Never mind your bluff,

And bluster,

All the smart talk

You can muster,

In the end,

You are still that

Frightened child,

Who had their face

Rubbed in the dirt,

And knows first hand,

How so easy it can be,

To get hurt.