"Strings Attached"

young and unquestioning

my innocence drew you like a beacon

across the lake

flashing green with naiveté

beckoning for your awareness

my trust encouraged your deceit

allowing you to bind my soul

to your heartless control

artlessly I believed

the façade of friendliness and openness

not perceiving the glass walls

obstructing intimacy

not understanding false promises of family

affected affection fooled me

until I looked beyond your insincere smiles

and suffered the restraints

you attach to your love

Copyright 2011 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

"Poison"

 

Inside   

           buried under smiles   

                     as innocent as childhood   

           hidden by energy   

                     that eats the inner core   

           enveloped with laughter   

                     tinged by hysteria   

           where no one can see, or touch, or feel   

                     the infinite coldness   

Waiting   

           surrounded by darkness   

                     like a corpse in the grave   

           clamped down by a vise   

                     whose claws rip and tear   

           forced into submission   

                     until no one’s looking   

           deep down in the well of pitch, and stagnation, and fear   

                     the infinite coldness   

Outside   

           revealed at last in the eyes   

                     through condemnation and indignation   

           recognized by the putrid stench   

                     of pettiness and intolerance   

           exposed in each word and act   

                     through acid hatred   

           an eruption of vomitus bile—black and caustic   

                     the infinite coldness   

   

Copyright 1997 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

Unfortunately, many of us experience relationships with individuals who are toxic to our lives. Often, they hide their nature under smiles and hugs, so sometimes it takes years to realize just how much they damage you with their poison.

“The White House Psychopath”

Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies spew and churn

Havoc and mayhem fester and grow

Impulsivity and egocentricity impede and destroy

Manipulation and dysfunction muddle and disorganize

Irresponsibility and rage mock and punish

Callousness and cruelty injure and kill

 

Copyright 2020 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman