What Eric Felt (Poetry)
09th September 2012
No one knew what Eric felt
that moment when he let all reason go —
or what switch had flicked, released him
freed the flow
of all the pent up grief the world should know.
No one gave a moments thought to him
before he spilt his rage without a word
they all assumed a quiet man was calm
and never dreamed such anger boiled below
they judged him vaguely harmless — a bit odd
concluded he was slow.
No one seemed to notice mute distress —
a bubble of resentment filled his head
the hurt that festered, bitter and unsaid
evolving into hatred over years
was eating him.
No one saw the warning, read the signs —
he saw red and they all feigned surprise
when something triggered
flashed behind his eyes
and all was chaos, ugly —
payback time.
No one took responsibilty —
they signed the papers, labelled him insane
found no explanation, didn’t look
for reasons — said nobody was to blame —
unfortunate — too bad — a crying shame...
No one but Eric knew the simple truth —
too obvious for other minds to see
smug in their concerned hypocrisy
papers filed, his case considered closed
all who voted conscience-free.
No one knew what Eric felt that day
no one asked — he didn’t have to lie
or try to fathom out exactly why
all his frustration surfaced, burst its way
through years of self-control.
No one imagined Eric’s mental pain
would seek relief so suddenly, be eased
by dealing death at random, taking lives
and afterwards as tranquil as a lamb
be at peace again.
that moment when he let all reason go —
or what switch had flicked, released him
freed the flow
of all the pent up grief the world should know.
No one gave a moments thought to him
before he spilt his rage without a word
they all assumed a quiet man was calm
and never dreamed such anger boiled below
they judged him vaguely harmless — a bit odd
concluded he was slow.
No one seemed to notice mute distress —
a bubble of resentment filled his head
the hurt that festered, bitter and unsaid
evolving into hatred over years
was eating him.
No one saw the warning, read the signs —
he saw red and they all feigned surprise
when something triggered
flashed behind his eyes
and all was chaos, ugly —
payback time.
No one took responsibilty —
they signed the papers, labelled him insane
found no explanation, didn’t look
for reasons — said nobody was to blame —
unfortunate — too bad — a crying shame...
No one but Eric knew the simple truth —
too obvious for other minds to see
smug in their concerned hypocrisy
papers filed, his case considered closed
all who voted conscience-free.
No one knew what Eric felt that day
no one asked — he didn’t have to lie
or try to fathom out exactly why
all his frustration surfaced, burst its way
through years of self-control.
No one imagined Eric’s mental pain
would seek relief so suddenly, be eased
by dealing death at random, taking lives
and afterwards as tranquil as a lamb
be at peace again.