how might one know the extent of man’s cruelty?
Mykala Gray
down, deep, and dirty into the realm of the unwanted-
into the controlled and the abused.
i know the cruelty of man-
in the loss of innocence and the hunted.
they take from one of us
and steal from another.
to hunt not for survival- but for enjoyment.
when they bore of you, they move onto us.
masculinity in the shape of taking life,
taking what doesn’t belong to them, something they want
but they will not ask for it, they simply take it.
you know the cruelty of man in arrowheads through flesh and
camouflage face paint; in rifles and too quiet clearings.
i know the cruelty of man in rough, calloused hands
and degrading words; in control and preening eyes.
i grew up too fast- when you never got the chance,
shot dead and stuffed into the bed of a pickup,
just because he wanted to.