I Know a Man

I work in mental health and hear lots of stories from people who have suffered abuse, when young. This poem is about the abuse suffered by a child that led to psychosis as an adult. Warning: if you’re ‘triggered’or ‘offended’ by the content of the poem. Please don’t read it.  

I know a man

I know a man who knows a man, 
Who lives inside his head
The man I know has told me that, 
This man fills him with dread
He scolds him, calls him bastard
And he says he should be dead
He mocks him daily, takes the piss 
And tears his life to shreds

This man I know, informs me that,
The man inside his head
Has lived with him since he was young 
And raped him in his bed
He told me that, the man he knows,
Upstairs would lightly tread
To slide between duvet and sheet
And wrong him while he slept 

The man who lives inside his head, 
Was both his parents friend
He baby sat when they went out,
Abuse this did portend
This man I know, then just a child
Was too weak to defend;
Himself from lust of pedophile
Who ‘ed’ him till he bled


Pshycotic now, this man I know 
He takes olanzapine
It quells the voice inside of him
But life is not serene 
The man who lives inside his head 
Though quiet and unseen 
Still petrifies this man I know 
And haunts his nightly dreams

N..L.G
Copyright © | Year Posted 2023

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Agustin Avatar
May 5, 2023 at 7:29 AM
Thanks for sharing this... exposing your thoughts about a sad reality through your unique poetic style. Welcome to Poetry Soup. I welcome you with the love of the Lord, expressed by John 3:16 of the Bible, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Be blessed. (I am a volunteer registered social worker in our orphanage, and I'm "burdened" by your revelation, since I do care for children who are "abused, neglected, and orphaned." It's my prayer that such man is overcoming his situation.)
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