I have been writing off and on for many years. Now that I'm retired, I'm dedicating more time to the craft.

Is there anything we won’t troll?

And when I say we

I mean

Thee

And they

And them

And those guys

Those girls

Those folks

Over there

Everywhere

All around

On the net

On the tube

The edges will soon burn

Will crumple up

On a picture

That was once

A prized possession

Posted to a site

In fun

Then everyone

Ran to the scene

Poured Zippo

Liquid on the image

Sparked a light

The way his Dad used to do

With the Lucky Strikes

And the occasional Roi-Tan

With a replica

Of the old man’s

But hers was sans

Say Hello Again

The scowl

And the cracked skull

Now the ache is dull

And feels everlasting

Because salty tears

Won’t extinguish the flame

Will fan it instead

And now he thinks about

Being dead

All the things that got said

Won’t leave her head

His knuckles bled

Can’t look

In the mirror

At the face

Her mother loved

And he did too

Once upon an adolescent dream

That was dry

But vivid

In IMAX 3D

Welched out of

Meeting Raquel

Back in One Million

BC

What ecstasy

That could be

Cavemen competitors

But no trolls

No internet bridges

To hide under

And plunder

The unsuspecting

Unwitting

Unready

Now esteem

Floats down the stream

The mirror cracked

And the shard stuck

In a freckle

Above the tendon

Below the phalange

Blue blood strikes air

Runs red

Off the glass

Drips

To the floor

And the sound

Of the splash

On the laminate

Echoes

Across a city of 8.5

Million

In the current year

2000 and some small change

On a relative scale

AD

Chided

Derided

Blindsided

Like a plot

On Survivor

Though more sinister

More real

The stakes

Much higher

Fate

Existence

Destiny

Life

So some anonymous

Somebody

Someone

With a phone in his hand

And odium in her heart

Delirium in his head

She thinks he’s really smart

And witty

And lives for a click

A like

A love

A ha ha

Emoji

That’s why she

Slathers hate

In a thick, peanut butter spread

Across the ubiquitous cyber bread

Gets read

And reviewed

Hey, mate

Your hate

Is great

My heart palpitates

When you grate

On someone’s skin

Like a metal file

On a bar of soap

Scraping until it dissolves

And swirls

Down the drain

Slurping

Slurking

Gurgling

As the air

Departs faster

Than water

Around it

Like he did

Long before her friends

Long before his time

A presence wasted

And only tasted

For a brief time

By a hungry earth

Swallowing

And sorting

With annelid

Be thy name

Such a shame

We have to troll

And when I say we

I mean

Thee

And they

And them

And those guys

Those girls

Those folks

Over there

Everywhere

All around

Everyone

Everything

From likeness

To action

To name

To hair

To I ride with an earbud in my ear

And I don’t

And nobody should

Because I said so

And we all know

That though

You don’t know me

Can’t see me

Will never meet me

You have to

Listen to me

Because I’m right

You’re wrong

I’m the one

The son

The daughter

The gift given

To humanity

The Arbiter I be

And I am worthy

You are not

Except of receipt

Of my detestations

And your protestations

Only serve

To prove my point

Bow now

Kowtow

Genuflect

Show respect

For my credibility

As I strike the keys

And bile runs from my fingertips

In drips

That echo when they hit

Across a planet

Of 7.5

Billion

And the cursor blinks

In time to his heart

As she hovers

The pointer

Over the icon:

“Accept friend request?”

She Wrote a Song Using Only Hate Comments

© 2020 greg cain

Comments

greg cain (author) from Moscow, Idaho, USA on December 20, 2020:

Miss Anupam - I think anonymity can make some people brave. This is one of those things we have to live with in the age of the internet, but I'm hopeful that over time it will become less prevalent, less popular. Hate can't be that much fun...

greg cain (author) from Moscow, Idaho, USA on December 20, 2020:

Hey, thanks John. I'm going to check out your troll doll piece today. When you search for pictures of trolls, those little furry guys are all that come up on Pixabay and the like.

Ms. Welch is an icon, always will be. She had some unforgettable roles over the years, and that was certainly one of them.

Good weekend, my dear friend John. Also, Happy Holidays to you. Enjoy the season, be safe and be well.

Anupam Mitu from MUMBAI on December 19, 2020:

Quite long but beautiful.. You expressed well how these concealed identities have their intentions fulfilled by such trolling..

John Hansen from Queensland Australia on December 18, 2020:

I love your poetic take on trolling, Greg. It really makes one sit up and take note. I have written a couple of pieces about it too, one titled "Whatever Happened to the Cute Doll Trolls." I remember Raquel from One Million BC too..how could I not lol.

greg cain (author) from Moscow, Idaho, USA on December 18, 2020:

Thanks, Umesh. I appreciate you reading the work and dropping by to comment. Good, safe weekend to you, my friend.

Umesh Chandra Bhatt from Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India on December 18, 2020:

Very nice. Chain of thoughts well presented.