At My Tormenter’s Funeral
Art: © Hakkan Lye
Poem by: PAULA JUNN
This is how I imagine myself to be when my tormentor dies.
I will wear black to keep with decorum and propriety.
I will even shed a tear.
Who will know that that drop of water is of pure joy and satisfaction?
To live longer than that persecutor,
To see her End gives me the utmost pleasure.
Inside where no one can see, my eyes are green with joy,
My mouth is filled to the brim with maniacal laughter.
I cannot eat or sleep thinking about those days that
I spent being tortured by that demon with a human shell.
The dark past is behind me, but the pain I endured is as if I was afflicted yesterday.
Fresh in my thoughts, my body remembers
The pain, the darkness, the absolute abyss I was pushed into.
I am reminded of that past whenever I look in the mirror, seeing
The bags under my eyes holding weights of anguish, sorrow and humiliation.
At this moment my body tremors and glows with fulfillment.
I feel free.
My past had been dyed black and blue with pain and frustration from her abuse.
Today is the last day I will wear this dreary color.
Tomorrow and the days that follow are those of celebration until my End comes.
I shall celebrate my emancipation from her grasp,
My bright and delicious future that has not been touched by her web of
manipulation and ill will.
A celebration is in order.
A celebration, indeed.
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Paula Junn is from many places. Born in New Jersey and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Paula enjoyed living in Cambridge, MA for eight amazing years. She is now pursing a Master of Fine Arts Degree at the California Institute of Integral Studies and is passionate about creative expression and building healthy, loving communities.
