Pizza Face

Careful how you taunt and tease - a tortured poem by ettorney

They called him pizza face

And when he ran they gave chase
The faster he ran the more they kept pace
They used every taunt all the means to debase
No where was safe; there was no safe place

He tried oh he tried to put up a bold face
But ne'er could he handle the pain and disgrace
Things of beauty and color and lace
Were denied to the boy they called pizza face.

When he looked in the mirror preparing to brace
For the image he'd see was the worst in his case
He looked at his skin and stepped back a pace

Four years of high school, four years of pain
Four years of torture, four years of shame

But today it was different he was not too sure how
Something had changed so he furrowed his brow
His skin was still ugly and blemished but now
When he saw all the pimples it hit him like, POW!

So he readied his plans and swore that somehow
No more would he suffer not ever not now
"No more will they taunt me of this I will vow"
He was ugly and wretched and he didn't care how

But the pain and the suffering would be long gone at last
Standing six foot feeling strong and steadfast
His future was certain the dice had been cast
The pizza faced boy soon a thing of the past

He knew no more anguish his thoughts had surpassed
The life he had led before when outcast
No more was he taunted nor chided, harassed
All those b******s at school the ones he outclassed

They could never imagine what was coming their way
For he swore his revenge as he knelt down to pray
for the strength and the courage to make them all pay

So he picked up a gun as he thought with dismay
He knows what he is and he knows what they'll say
"That pizza faced boy brought death and decay"
When he painted the school with their blood that sad day.

And then came a time when the tears were all dry
After the funerals where bereft families cry
After the moments to mourn and say bye

The parents of children who alas were to die
Would wonder forever and think with a sigh
That boy with the acne so quiet and shy
What made him do it, "I don't understand why?"

Author's Note

Again, I have no idea where these morbid thoughts come from. I blame the squirrel running around in my head.

Reviews

[A.Lee]

Well, the squirrel in your head did a very good job. You developed this really well. I could see it going in a PSA. At first I though he was just going to kill himself, but then... It really makes you think. Bullies are awful. And then they blame the person who was bullied when they flip. It takes a team effort.. the bullies need to stop, surrounding friends and family need to take notice, and the victim needs to speak up. Nice work.
io

[Amy Bumpas]

WOW! This is a very powerful read, and sad as well.
Kids seem to go through a lot of bullying now days.
What can be so scary is that you don't know when
it may happen or where. You portrayed the thoughts
of a child being bullied, then the aftermath.

People ask the question why, and you sometimes
wonder, well, do they really care.

[Sam Severn]

God bless the squirrel in yer brain!! Cuz he wrote one doozy of a cosmic nursery rhyme here! Thought provoking as hell, n' cinematic, to boot! MEGA-COOL, DUDE!! ㋡

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

It is sad that society does this to the young, heck to all ages..
The younger ones though as in your poem/story.. have not enough wisdom at this age to know that looks are temporary...This reminds me of so many of the school massacres... sad lonely children turning into murderers .. a poem of awareness and sadness..

Chloe

[marcie]

A great poem that makes the reader aware that the bullied wont always roll over and play dead sometimes , just sometimes they get their revenge. Skillfully wriiten , i like this alot.

[...]

... it's a very serious subject and transcends the end of this poem ... the poem is ... of course ... exceptionally skillfully written ... but i think your poem transcends poetry as it begins to talk about poetic justice ... the end is tragic for all ... and there are no two ways about it ... but what is truly thought-provoking is what if this guy had not killed anyone but lived with the bitterness all his life and directed it at others ... in short doses ... especially those who were completely unsuspecting ... i think we are talking about a radical inclusion in the education curriculum all over the world ... and i really wish i was in a position of some power to enable or facilitate this inclusion ... and there ... this poem from you would be such a precious tool for ensuring consciousness ... just my silly thoughts ... this poem is sheer genius ... for the realms it covers ...

[Ellen Hammond]

Wow! This is a poem with a great lesson and reality check. Too often, people mock others who are different or whose outward appearance is different from their own. Many seem to have no idea consequences of their actions or of the rage that can explode when the victim has no more buttons to push. Sadly, the victim often has so much self hatred that they commit suicide but some do seek revenge.

I love the rhyme and flow of this piece and the message is one that needs to be heard loud and clear.

[Liza]

this poem was definitely a jaw dropper but i relate to the pizza face because i suffered from acne at one time; still do occasionally. the expression is a confirmation that we judge and are judge by our superficial shell; we are conditioned by the media to like, appreciate and long to see flawlessness and perfection. Most of the stanzes could be sold to an acne product :) except the last one - when pizza face gets his revenge....i know the anger from being ridiculed gets bottled up - it sucks...

getting off topic though

great entertaining write

it should come with a warning label at the end "kids don't try this at home" lol :)

[James Watts]

Makes you think about the school shootings we have had of the past few years. You never know what you are sending your kids into. Some kids have emotional issues and their peers don't realize that those buttons they are pushing are equal to launching a nuclear warhead, the warhead being the victim they think it fine to torment.

[James Paulin]

Such a facinating poem, I almost think it could do without the rhyme. You did a fine job with this one and have a high standard for your work. I like how you
try new things with your writing.

[Michael X]

such ana amazing poem in depth and clarity, the meaning draws upon a certain history and describes those sad scenerios that are ever too common in humanity and it's cruelty toward one another even at such youngg ages,
in any regards you have constructed this brilliantly. powerful.