The Perfect Child

Was a grown-up by the age of five,

watching his family tear itself apart.

Jumped in front of the bullets

to kept the blood in its vessels,

because he was the perfect child.

At school he was an angel,

never did less than his best

never failed on any test,

and always turned the other cheek:

After all, he was the perfect child.

In college he learned a lot

things he wished, things he'd not:

understood how to save, learned how to see.

saw his soul in the mirror:

twisted mind of a perfect child.

and in his room he stood alone,

trying to change who he was.

for the first time, he failed.

It seemed he wasn't a perfect child.

Then, he held up the hammer,

became the victim, crossed the line.

and the neighbors would find him days later:

smashed brains of a perfect child.