The Loudest Firework

Originally posted January 31, 2024. Small revisions to the enjambments, word choice, and a few new lines.

Photo by Jonas Frey on Unsplash

Before first grade was over
the bully was not my bully
as he moved his cruelty
to Stanely and Lil Don.
Before high school graduation—
when his terrors were no longer
in the lowest and tightest corners
of a subconscious that I pray
stays wrapped and constricted
in caution tape the glutton
for punishment in me can resist
jus…