Splinter

By Lamont A. Turner

I carry every slight in my soul like splinters,
Perforating my being, diluting it with foreign and odious matter.
Every insult imbues my core with shrapnel
Like hot lead from the rifles of an enemy impervious to my feeble assaults.

My God how this added mass weighs me down!
Clanging about in my innards like the funeral knell of the condemned,
Denying me respite from odious dreams
Of unrequited love.

Perhaps the fault lies with me,
My tormentor being oblivious to my pain,
But the torment is there all the same
Cutting into me with each disapproving glace
And crushing me with every hostile syllable uttered
 By lips I feel unworthy to kiss.

Lamont A. Turner’s work has appeared in numerous online and print venues including Mystery Weekly, Mystery Tribune, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark Dossier, and other magazines, podcasts and anthologies. His short story collection, “Souls In A Blender” was released by St. Rooster Books in October 2021.