A punch to the arm,
A push to the ground.
Since when do teaching lessons involve harm?
The lingering taste of hatred on my tongue,
Cloaked the metallic tang of red from my gums.

Claiming to teach me about life’s bitter reality,
How people can be a living monstrosity.
Yet a mirror reveals,
And the reflection is you.
Life cruelties can etch scars,
But with time they will heal.
Your brutality however,
A tutor’s mark.
Betrayed, I learned to wear my own disguise,
To shield my heart from indelible wounds that
No passage of time can subside.

And your lessons are carved from the edges of a knife,
Each word a cut, each phrase a slice,
Teachings of yours are twisted like serpents,
They coil and hiss,...