The Tormenter

• Elizabeth Hsu, Grade 6, Summer Hill Public School
• Poetry
• 2009

Finalist in the 'Xtreme Read 2009' competition

Jealousy is the hatred, the longing, the desire,
It is the encroaching night or a poison-tipped dart.
It is made of thunderbolts, bitterness and fire,
Jealousy is a resentful shadow gnawing at your heart.

Try to avoid jealousy, however hard it seems,
Writhe out of its flailing grasps, clutching at your soul,
Elude its searching claws, its forever echoing screams,
No matter what it takes don’t let the monster take control!

Spite is what is in you, making you deranged
It tears at you from the inside, not letting you repent;
It is a barrier of isolation, keeping you estranged
With raging winds and hail, your heart is tormented.

However there is always hope for jealousy to handle,
Even if spite tries to squash it, it stays forever bright
Hope cannot be extinguished, it is an immortal candle
A tiny flickering flame in the everlasting night.