Monsters Within

A response to the bombings in Paris.

It is often said that mankind is evil.

Mankind is the downfall

of Planet Earth.

For centuries, 

we have stomped on this ground;

tread over this earth;

reaped from the soil.

For decades,

we have polluted our rivers;

destroyed the homes and lives of others.

Since the dawn of mankind,

stories of monster have always been told.

Vampires, werewolves, demons, and ghosts

are said to have walked this earth.

For many, the existence of such creatures

remains a mystery.

For myself, I know they are real.

They are alive.

They walk the same ground,

they breath the same air,

and they live the same lives as we do.

Not all of the people here are monsters.

No, some are kind souls.

Some are gentle and peaceful,

some are bold yet beautiful.

Not all humans are monsters.

It takes a monster to kill a man,

It takes a man to create a monster.

All monsters are men.

Author's Note

please please review!

Reviews

[Alucard6336]

Lovely. I'm not sure if I'm a monster, but I have a good soul. This broken world is host to all sorts of demons, and I think one determined to hurt innocent people are the worst.


This makes you think, and instead of just doing a requiem, you made something inquisitive and beautiful on paper. Great work :)

[Eve]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was not trying to insinuate that all of us are monsters (although perhaps we all have a little bit of monster within us), but rather that the only real monsters in this world are people, not actual demonic creatures.

[ReadsAtDances]

Very good and interesting poem! The last stanza and the line following it are especially good, and not easy to forget. While the poem is great the way it is, there were a few lines that didn't seem to flow for me. Tiny things like maybe changing the 12th and 13th lines to "Stories of monsters have always been told./ Vampires, werewolves, demons, and ghosts" Thanks for the beautiful poem!

[Eve]

Thank you so much for the review! I will look at those lines again. I really appreciate the feedback.

[Eichendorff]

I really like the topic! This train of thoughts that it is men and women who invented the notion of monsters, that monsters are manlike. Perhaps the history of mankind should be retold as a history of monsters. That would explain much of the calamities humankind has had to face.

[Eve]

Thank you! That's exactly what I was trying to convey!

[anartao]

Brilliant ! What a fantastic poem ! Such truth and power in the last line