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The Oath by Lelia Thomas

Don’t close your eyes to what lies ahead
To cast aside the manna of God for a simple baker’s bread.
Your feet may be firmly planted on this earth,
But so then is your heart–so cold and lacking…
Sends a shiver down my back, my vertebrae cracking.

You’re so frigid in your worldly ways
With a conscience buried in layers of selfish haze.
You beautifully sign your letters “with love,”
But penning it doesn’t make it real.
All hope for your future, I am empty of.

You are as any other who has walked this road.
Upon your own head, the crown you have bestowed.
You love me not, nor care for my life or death–
But I take solace in one final truth.
I shall have my revenge before your last breath.

Author’s Comments

The Oath is like several other pieces of mine. It is made for you, as a reader, to take as you will, to apply to your personal experiences and feelings. It is unisex and can apply to many things at once. All of us have experienced betrayal of many kinds, and that’s what this poem is about. The hardest betrayals are, without a doubt, those found within romantic relationships and friendships. The callousness that people sometimes suddenly show is unbelievable. It should be enough to make us, as victims, realize we should never be that way to others ourselves.

What is it that makes a person turn from good, only to embrace cruelty? Is it selfishness that blinds or a combination of emotions (or lack thereof)? As a victim, it is hard not to want revenge, no matter the reasoning of the other person. Sometimes, we get it. Yet, when we have our revenge, does it make us any better than the person who inflicted pain on us first? To consume ourselves with cruelty like that which was shoved upon us makes us both the hunted and the hunters.