I’ve come to understand
the power that bullies have:
how they come to hold their sway.
By their own bravado they entice
those with low self-esteem.
By their swagger and their ego
they collect the like-minded.
With selective inclusion they encourage
the ones with no compass to follow their lead—
for their power lies in the masses,
and fostering their words and ideals in others
puts them ever higher on their own pedestal.
A bully is never
wrong, and even if
they are, they’ll never admit it.
They twist the facts to suit their
narrative, in a place where lies reign as truth,
and truth becomes non-existent .
When perception is everything,
they must not be perceived as weak, and
so the elderly, the handicapped, anyone
with physical infirmity or even an ounce
of compassion becomes a free-range target.
When they speak, they speak in constant
repetition, peppering…hammering…
and so the brainwashing begins.
Who doesn’t want to be seen as confident?
Yet, there is a
difference between
being confident or pompously ignorant.
It’s no wonder that those
without a platform of their own
would be attracted to
such a larger-than-life personality,
whether they agree with them
or are just enamored by power and spectacle.
No matter who goes under in their wake
they no longer care, for they are riding high
on the wave of new found popularity.
I’ve known the power that vicious words create
when uttered from the mouth of someone who
thinks only of their standings with their peers
elevating themselves with malevolence and hate.
Self-proclaimed gods filled with delusion.
They forge ahead, while those who follow them
ride along on the coattails of the inept and ignorant,
trading their soul
for just momentary illusion.
A bully shines like polished silver in the sun —
a visual trick to attract, a closer look reveals
something more akin to cheap tin.
A bully feeds off anger and resentment
with a dash of fear to retain
anyone who might dissent .
When the tipping point comes,
when the smoke clears and
all those mirrors disappear
the bully will never see he’s losing:
far too smug to admit his grasp has loosened
he’ll denigrate all who jump ship
with lies and insults of his own choosing.
I’ve come to understand the power of bullies
I’ve seen my share come and go—
those with a huge ego and
the words to stir the masses.
Their reign almost always passes
as dawn breaks to reveal the empty soul
of a narrow-minded power-tripper.
A few will have
been turned by his reality
to create power trips of their own.
Many will recoil from their actions
and many will just walk away,
but most will scratch their heads in wonder
of how such person could hold sway.
© Ginny Brannan 2018
"...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Epistle to Galations, 6:7 King James Version
I have seen my share of bullies...middle school, high school, in work, daily life, politics. Their power is gleaned from the ones that follow, either enthusiastically, or in silence that they never become a target of the bully's vicious attacks. Karma is a bitch, and she always comes back to haunt them.
