Mirror Poem by Joseph Anthony Montefusco

The pain of fifteen years
Summed up in one six foot tall body
Everything from death to backstabbing peers
He even stared into the barrel of a 'shotty'

Sharp steel on soft skin
Sliced left to right
The worst pain is his pain within
Felt every single day and night

It pierces his flesh, mind, soul, and heart
Just poking and teasing- but then
It tears through, ripping the surface apart
Hurting so much he might as well scream rape again

As he box cuts a “J” on his arm
He remembers the pain of each year
Every single person that did him harm
And with every stroke comes a new tear

His blue, green, and grey eyes drowned
Not because of cuts but the thoughts
Each once forgotten memory now found
Wishing he could end it with a few shots

The crimson liquid of life
Now makes its way to the floor
Along with a puddle of pain- and the knife
Is this boy no more?

A diluted puddle of blood
Accompanied by a red soaked knife
And it seems this attempt was a dud
For the boy still has his life

As the boy holds his injury
He stares into the mirror- and I stare back
We both know why he did it- its within me
What transpired isn’t scarce, more of a common attack

As the blood drips the tears drip
Crying for our one pathetic soul
No remorse it’s done that’s it
All this pain has taken its toll

So we stand alone
And the blood ceases to drip
But the memories keep hitting home
Then I decide, go ahead, its time for one more slit.