DON'T HURT

Written in Pantoum style

DON’T HURT

There is never a reason to hurt a child
They are too small to defend against
those so much bigger.
Look into those innocent eyes…

They are too small to defend against
those with yellow teeth and pock-marked skin.
Look into those innocent eyes…
Don’t you remember?

Those with yellow teeth and pock-marked skin
whose words and actions scar.
Don’t you remember?
What do you hope to accomplish?

Your words and actions scar.
Your bottle is your only friend.
What do you hope to accomplish
before you see who you are hurting?

Your bottle is your only friend.
The wounds may never heal
until you see who you are hurting.
Find another way to deal with the pain.

The wounds may never heal,
for they are so much bigger.
Find another way to deal with the pain.
There is never a reason to hurt a child.

~*~

PANTOUM STYLE
The pantoum consists of a series of quatrains rhyming ABAB in which the second and fourth lines of a quatrain recur as the first and third lines in the succeeding quatrain; each quatrain introduces a new second rhyme as BCBC, CDCD. The first line of the series recurs as the last line of the closing quatrain, and third line of the poem recurs as the second line of the closing quatrain, rhyming ZAZA.