Persona Poem: Villain’s P.O.V.

There are only a few minutes left of the weekend, so I will make this quick!

Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was interesting and daunting:

“Write a persona poem — that is, a poem in the voice of a particular person who isn’t you. But I’d like you to choose a very particular kind of person. How about a poem in the voice of a superhero (or a supervillain)? Comic book characters are very much like mythological characters — they tend to embody big-picture values or personality traits. Good or bad. Loyal or disloyal! (Heck — some comic book characters are mythologial characters — think of Thor). And like mythological characters, superheroes and supervillains let us tap into deep-seated cultural tropes. So go for it. Whether you identify with Batman, Robin or – gulp – the Joker, let’s hear your poems in another voice.”

As a fiction author, one of my biggest challenges is to write in a voice dissimilar to my own. (Many of my characters match my own self much more closely than I realize, to my chagrin and my workshop mates’ amusement.) Another of my challenges is in creating a villain. That’s why, for today’s prompt, I thought it would be good for me–if not particularly easy–to write a persona poem in the P.O.V. of a villain in a Y.A. fantasy trilogy I’m writing. It’s especially difficult to capture him in a purely villainous train of thought, because he is pretty complicated–at least, I’m trying to make him that way. 😉

“Rise”
By: Amanda K. Fowler

This has always been the way of things:
The strong will rise,
The weak will serve,
The most clever of all shall rule.
I have no room for mercy,
So it’s best for you to join me.
With my strength and your passion,
We’d blaze so brightly
The stars would envy us.
Don’t you see
This is all for you,
For all of us,
The chosen ones?
This has always been
Our destiny,
And it’s not easy,
But it’s right.
The gods abandoned us,
Their children.
They are weak,
too busy
roiling in their precious balance.
It’s up to me,
To us,
To set things the way they are meant to be.
You’ve been hurt–
I see the hate burning
In your eyes,
I feel it
In your heart.
You’re the brightest flame of all;
I’m only asking you
To help me set the worlds afire.
Light the darkness,
Be your true self,
Let them see you as you are,
And gain the respect you deserve.
It will be a spectacle for the ages,
And I’m asking you to join by my side,
To rise with me.