Why do people do bad things?
Is it because they're evil,
or is it because they're broken?
Why do they choose,
to hurt someone good?
Is it because they don't feel emotions,
or is it because they were once hurt too?

Were they neglected by someone?
Were they given some trauma?
Is pain really all they spread?
or is it just plain discontent?

Were they deprived of love,
when they needed it the most?
When they cried of help,
were they simply ignored?
Was it the poison of ignorance,
that killed their kind soul?
Was it the ink of hatred,
that blackened their world?

Maybe devils were once angels too,
before they lost themselves,
in the labyrinth of deceit and truth.
What we now see,
is a terrifying monster,
but what is used to be,
was a happy and kind soul.

Were they pushed into darkness,
before they chose to darken the world?
When they expressed their plight,
Were they gone unheard?

Were they treaten mercilessly,
when they needed pure love?
Were they forced to hide their agony,
when they seeked a listener?

Were they born a villain,
or just forced to be one?
Were they always so cruel,
or widely misunderstood?

Were they claiming to own something,
that never belonged to them?
or did someone snatch from them,
their well deserved privilege?

Was it the lack of empathy,
that made them walk the path of fire?
Was it the force of suffering,
that made them surrender to the force of selfish desire?

Were they embraced by loneliness,
when they craved the embrace of affection?
Did they have no one to wipe their tears,
when they wished for care and compassion?

Were they blinded,
by the fondness of vengeance,
when they chose to bid farewell,
to their own goodness?

Was it the lack of warmth of love,
that ignited the fire of hate in them?
Was it the coldness of despise,
that made them extinguish,
the flame of virtuousness?

Were they prompted to follow,
what they were shown and taught all their life?
Maybe the dead souls that we see today,
were once filled with hope and light.

Were they hurt by betrayal,
when they trusted someone to the core?
Did they always try their best,
yet crushed under the weight of expectations?

Were they left with no choice?
Were they left completely helpless?
Was it some emotional neglect,
that made them so reckless?

Because no one is born hating others I believe,
It's what they go through and what they see.
For love is a language that all understand,
and hatred is something we purposely instill.

Maybe they were shown,
that their kindness will cause them pain.
Maybe they were just scared,
waiting for someone to lend them a helping hand.

Sometimes all a devil needs,
is an angel to show him what's love.
Because the one who appears to be evil today,
was once an angel too.

They spent their entire lives,
hiding in the clutches of terror.
They probably would've been okay,
if people and times were fairer.

Scarred by the wounds of fear,
they forgot who they used to be.
With a broken heart overwhelmed with tears,
they changed themselves into barbaric beings.

It's when their spirit gave up,
that they began to turn cold.
It was their petrified self,
that ultimately turned bold.

Someone left them with pain,
so they felt that reciprocating it would be fair enough.
They couldn't release themselves from the chains of torment,
since they were haunted by years of trauma.

It was once their pain turned into anger,
that they set to sought out revenge.
It was at this very moment,
that they were labelled as the "villain".

It all comes down to saying,
that they were once humans too.
If only it wasn't for that period of suffering,
all devils were once angels too.
~sk

© aestheticallypoetic