Haiku Friday – Tyrant & Hope

“The common mistake that bullies make is assuming that because someone is nice that he or she is weak. Those traits have nothing to do with each other. In fact, it takes considerable strength and character to be a good person.” 

~Mary Elizabeth Williams

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Trolls

by Vacuous

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Trolls,
a mythical creature now real.
They roam the internet looking to eat.
Looking to eat emotions.
You get a kick out of pain from another.
You kick them down on the ground while they are already under it.
Using technology to get into their brains and heart.
You find it funny to bring suffering to someone who can’t take anymore and has already taken it all.
You let them slip farther down into the hole when they confide
in you something they won’t tell others.
You think it is funny, cute, fair to treat others with the disrespect you have honed.
You practice day in day out to make those around you
feel less significant.
Unequal.
Lifeless.
No matter how far a person thought you could push
you always found a way to push a little farther.
That’s all you’ve known.
That is all you will ever know.
Because at some point in life,
you decided to become a
troll.

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How much does bullying hurt? If we don’t know by now, after all the school shootings, teen suicides, mass murders in public places . . . The effects of bullying are painful and can sometimes lead victims to suicide as an alternative to pain. Bullying has a negative effect on everyone involved; the target, the bully and the bystanders.

We see the effects of bullying on the news almost every day. We read about it on social media. I don’t think anyone can turn a blind eye any longer. So what do we do about it? Spread awareness of the negative effects of bullying. If you see someone being bullied, try to do something to stop it. If you are a bully, and many adults are, stop bullying others. When you bully someone you take away their self-confidence. Bullying makes children feel lonely, unhappy and frightened. The effects of bullying can be devastating and lead to depression and suicide. In order to grow, we need to learn to lift others up, not tear them down.

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She yelled hopeless words

Like an old edifice, I

crumbled to the ground

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“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

~ Mark Twain

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Tyrant and Hope are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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I’m almost done with my self-edits for the 2nd installment of my Fantasy Angels Series. Tomorrow I will be sending it off to my editor. I am also working on revising my first book, The Basement, which touches on the subjects of bullying and verbal abuse. So stay on the lookout for that one. 😉

Illustration by George Miltiadis for The Basement

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Have a great day, everyone!