Manipulation

by PhoenixXander

Published November 25, 2014

E - Everyone

In Poetry by Phoenix

I saw it.

I saw the good in you,

the little speck of light reaching from the depths within you.

I saw the abuse,

the battered, broken side of you,

making you burn to the slightest of a touch.

I saw the innocence,

the little girl trapped inside the body of a monster.

I wanted

to help you, in anyway

you were so harmless, driven with hushed fears.

My instinct

was to take you under my wing and let you breathe,

to nurse away all the negativity you seemed to go through.

I started to wonder…

if it was all a game.

The walls came crashing down,

you showed me the true you, the you that was hid so well.

You paraded across my heart

killing everything I knew.

I gave you clothes and food,

sometimes even shelter,

but you still stole from me.

But you didn't only steal objects,

you stole a part of my soul.

I gave you affection, love,

but you still cheated.

I made promise that I didn't even dream to break,

but you still lied and crossed your fingers behind your back.

I grew weak...

it took every ounce of energy to kick you away.

I had to piece together everything you wrecked....

it became almost okay...

that little girl came back,

teary eyed apologizing,

the sound of your voice was so faint,

the cries stung my ear drums

the way you held me close, begging me to give you affection.

I gave in,

I let you back in...many times.

Each time the wounds healed slower.

The monster

came back, this time the hits were harder.

I gave in.

A constant battle of shutting you out,

then letting you crawl right back.

I’m sorry

that I've given up on you like this,

but all you did was hurt me, physically and mentally.

I gave you everything I had to give

to just be hurt again and again.

Manipulation is your game

and I just can’t play anymore.

Comments & reviews · 10
User avatar
WrittenGirl46
Comment
WrittenGirl46 commented Comment · Dec 1, 2014

I can relate to this a lot, it's amazing how you can take something people have been threw and explain it beautifully which is amazing. You're really good.

disheartedallure22 wrote a review Review · Nov 28, 2014

Hello!
I've been reviewing all types of poems today and this is by far the best, there's one nitpick and then I'm all admiring and complementing. The "anyway", I think that should be two words. other than that, I found no flaws. This is a very true scenario, even being a girl, I can say my species can be heartless sometimes. Some intentionally and some not. In this case, it's clear that this girl is just using the narrator. The details and descriptions really are wonderful in this piece. I just want to read it over and over. They're so vivid. And it's not hard to tell that it's from true emotions. I hope you keep writing because you've got the talent so definitely keep on.

Stay awesome!
Valerie

JohannaPomeray wrote a review Review · Nov 27, 2014

This is dark. Heavy imagery and subject matter. Your use of enjambment is to really great affect here. It sets up tension perfectly and has me going in all sorts of directions. Usually I'm not big on it but you've used it nicely. Also, this story is a very relateable one and I think you've found a good topic to expand upon. One thing I notice; there are several metaphors here that work really well. My biggest suggestion would be to expand them. Bring back the bird imagery. One thing about a poem is that when you use images like this, we can picture them literally because the poem doesn't have to be a real-world setting, so keep in mind when you conjure up images that the reader may see exactly what you wrote. There are some great moments of that, an I thin you can reference them again. The last lines a very powerfull and I think capture the essence of the poem. My only other observation is that you could work with language to create this brevity, clarity, and power in the rest of the work. Otherwise, keep pouring it out, my friend.

Random avatar
Kajka
Review
Kajka wrote a review Review · Nov 26, 2014

I can relate to this so much right now.

I almost felt like I was the author of this piece. Literally everything you've mentioned from "the little girl trapped inside the body of a monster" to "Manipulation is your game and I just can't play anymore" felt like this piece was my brainchild. Your descriptions are very well written, along with the changes she undergoes. The reader starts to perceive her as a wild animal, incapable of feelings and emotions. The way she keeps hurting you is simply terrifying until you manage to set yourself free of her bondage (so to speak) and finally realize who she really is.


All in all an incredible piece.
Great work!

Random avatar
Kajka
Comment
Kajka commented Comment · Nov 26, 2014

User avatar
Corncob
Review
Corncob wrote a review Review · Nov 26, 2014

I thought this was really good and I actually really enjoyed it. There was a lot of emotion and pain and confusion, and all these emotions and more were portrayed really well to the reader. I felt like I was you (slightly creepy, but you know what I mean).
The only thing I suggest is maybe trying to make this a little more rhythmic so it's not so disjointed. I was reading it in my head and I couldn't find a rhythm, so yeah, maybe that. However, the disjointed-ness could also play in your favor as it rolls in with the rest of the effect of you being confused and broken from this girl. It makes the reader feel more like that.
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Really great job, and welcome to Young Writer's Society (YWS)! If you ever have any questions, you can just PM me, or a moderator, who is a username in green.
Keep writing!
+1 (my nickname)

User avatar
TheKomodoDragon Comment
TheKomodoDragon commented Comment · Nov 26, 2014

This... it's wonderful. It hit all the right chords. The way it described this relationship, this confused, convoluted relationship... just beautiful. This was an intense read, building up to a final denial. Simply awesome! Keep up the great, great work!

Thank you a lot!

Random avatar
emeraldfox
Review
emeraldfox wrote a review Review · Nov 25, 2014

Hello, PheonixXander. What a great poem you've written!
This was a really great piece! It was so relatable and it expressed an idea that some people struggle voicing. Your poem had a very strong meter. You also used punctuation well to add to the effect of the poem. The poem had very good grammar, spelling, capitalization, etc. Your word choice was also well though-out to contribute to your poem in a positive way. I don't really have any corrections because this was such a great piece!
*Likes*
*Follows*
-emeraldfox

Thank you so much!

User avatar
Firelight
Review
Firelight wrote a review Review · Nov 25, 2014

I really like this poem. It's great because it is relatable to a lot of people and I clearly expresses your feelings. I noticed that you don't have each stanza capitalized all the time. It should be capitalized each time at the beginning of a new stanza. I like how you use your choice of words, also your comparison of the girl being a monster. This has happened to me before and this story really explains it. Also, instead of periods at the end of the stanzas, try commas.

Actually what you described would be bad, ABC's of Punctuation in Poetry

luciditysNovelist wrote a review Review · Nov 25, 2014

This is definitely bone-chilling, and fulfills the promise in the description of "real life horror". I would definitely agree with you on the assertion that real life horror is of a particularly terrifying brand.
Your descriptive language here is, for the most part, very evocative and appropriate to the subject, but there are a few grammar and usage slip-ups that break up the flow of the poem, and that's what I'd hope to help with.
"...let you breath."
Here, you've misspelled breathe. It's an easy mistake to make, and pretty minor, but the poem would still benefit from having it fixed.
"But you didn't only steal physical objects"
The term "physical objects," while accurate and precise, feels a bit too clinical for this subject matter. I'd recommend replacing it with "things," or even just "objects," both of which have more emotional connotations.
"the cries stung my ear drum"
Again, the term "ear drum" feels a bit too clinical for the subject matter, in addition to the fact that it looks rather weird in the singular form. Why did the cries only sting one eardrum, rather than both? You'd be better off replacing it with "ears," which has all of the syntactical meaning of your previous choice but doesn't mess up the emotional tone of the poem.
"I let you back in...multiple times."
Here, "many" would work better than "multiple," for the same reasons I gave in the previous two examples.
In any case, this is a lovely and evocative poem, and with a few revisions, I'm sure that it could really shine.

Thank you for those revisions! I put them down on my physical copy and will add them as soon as I get to a device that allows it. (:



'This must be Thursday,' said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer. 'I never could get the hang of Thursdays.'
— Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy