Kindness

by Michael Dean Long

You've all heard the tale of the eighty-one whacks

Made by Lizzy Borden’s oh so merciful axe.

I can well attest that she was too kind

Or maybe just thankful her parents weren't mine.

In scenes too horrific for Silver Screen or TV

I muse what would transpire if she had been me.

With thousands of pieces strewn on the floor

I'd still have the venom urging me on to do more!

With malevolent laughter they've not heard before

I'd strip myself naked and bathe in their gore

Lucky they are, not to have lifted the lid

Of that Pandorean Box and I left when I did.

Like Shakespearean actors upon life's stage

Their lives would have ended at the turning of the page.

The unfathomable pain, the incalculable rage

Earned these monsters their miserable wage.

All of this and sadistic humor to boot,

For kindness was never my strongest of suits!