False Sense Of Strength

False Sense Of Strength
© Surazeus
2025 01 05

Face skin still frosted by bleak morning wind, 
Paul swims with otter grace long high school hall, 
hearing soft voice of river water swirl 
in wordless voices boys and girls express, 
and longs to understand what each soul says, 
but sighs their mental signals fail to mean. 

"My mother named me Paul for the wise saint," 
he whispers quietly as frail moth wings, 
"but I do not wish to evangelize 
good news of the crownless king, long dethroned, 
returning in swift starship to assert 
divine authority over this globe." 

Waiting for the football jocks to disperse 
so he can open his locker for books, 
Paul ponders mystery of authority 
that some men project as false sense of strength 
while others emanate more natural grace 
of humble compassion for everyone. 

Safe in his turtle shell of private hope, 
designed to shield him from careless abuse 
that anxious boys inflict to prove their strength, 
Paul sits in the first row of every class 
and spreads scope of his learning far beyond 
topics teachers cover to build his thoughts. 

While he considers fragile privilege 
rich white people assert as right to rule, 
as depicted by the sad character 
Jay Gatsby striving to attest his worth, 
muffled pops startle everyone awake, 
and voices murmur in astonished fear. 

Having trained to shoot guns since he was young 
by his father, the plain-speaking Marine, 
Paul shouts, "Someone is shooting, so we must 
barricade the door against fierce assault," 
while rushing forward to lock the class door, 
but Mike kicks open their fear as he smirks. 

Dropping to the floor on sudden impulse, 
Paul covers his ears as gunfire erupts 
when Mike splatters the room with human blood 
which smears the walls of public education 
with abject precepts of conceptual art 
to assert power over life and death. 

Satisfied he killed everyone inside, 
Mike turns and heads to assault the next room, 
but Paul grabs overturned chair of bold courage 
and bashes back of his head to subdue 
berserk intention of volatile rage, 
then slumps against the wall of faith and cries.