The Web

There is a very troubled man
whose heart is entombed
in a bottomless ego,
so he will not feel his own pain,
or risk exposing it
to the world.

He has made his ego
his best friend,
and it is a loyal friend,
clever and resourceful.

It shows him how to use the pain
in the hearts of those around him
to gratify and protect him,
by telling those who will listen
exactly what they want to hear.

For those who would love him,
he feeds their anger and fear
with wild tales of imagined enemies,
and their evil plans
to crush what they hold dear.

For those who would loathe him,
he feeds their outrage
with what is most repugnant to them,
so they may feel strenghtened
by their own righteous anger.

And thus,
he feeds on the rage
he has engendered,
king of the web of hate
he has spun around him,
basking in the glory
of our attention.