15
Reflection
By John Casey
So difficult not to stare
He doesn't deserve to be acknowledged
But I can't help it
When I see him I think about the wreckage he's left behind
And I think about
Everyone he's hurt along the way
He's taken destruction to a new level
The only thing he's managed to refine in life is his duplicity
We'd be better off without him
It should end
But somehow, death would be too kind
He sees me looking
Staring back purposefully with those judging eyes
Suddenly, I want to strike him
He needs to be punished for all of it
I scream at him
But he screams as well, startling me
And I punch him in the face with all my strength, furious
He hits me back with equivalent anger
I stagger, overcome and crying
Blood drips to the bathroom floor
And I slump down on the toilet
To think some more
Picking splinters of glass from my hand