The tyrant wants to be in control
he demands full compliance
never satisfied, never full
purposefully increasing reliance
He’s offended when information
is not shared with him
wants perfection in the habitation
gets mad when not included
He reprimands for expenses
that seem unnecessary to him
demands full access to the resources
Even those not due him
He criticizes, making others believe
they’re not good enough
pointing out so called misdeeds.
…living with him–is tough.
His high, unrelenting expectations
are a seemingly impossible mountain
of “could have been better” in all situations
His words are not a life-giving fountain
He corrects, and laughs at others
he thinks himself superior
acting like a villain who smothers
yet all seems well on the exterior.
**
A scared little boy wonders deep inside
if he’ll ever be enough,
he tries, from any possible failure, to hide.
thinking: “Someday, will I be tough?
Do I have what it takes
to be a real man?”
Great insecurity makes
him pretend he has plan.
“Real men do this and not that”
he has often heard it said
“be bold and strong, and not too fat”
“keep hair nicely combed on your head”
Work! Provide! Lead! Fight!
Show who is in charge
then you’ll be alright
–though your ego might get large
The scared little boy wonders
Will I be able to do all that
given all my blunders?
Will someone my shoulders pat?
The scared little boy grows,
leaves home, studies, marries
deals with life’s many blows
and some joy. But his dream tarries.
And then one day he begins to discover
inside, fear has led to ire, and
there’s much, much more to uncover
in fact, he has become the tyrant.
A shocking realization!
questions abound, how could this be?
insecurity, hurt, indignation
have contributed to this new reality.
How does a tyrant stop behaving as such?
by looking at root causes that led
to it, then grieving, healing so much
That the boy’s heart, matured, is seen instead.
© Lukas Westevy
2022