Raw Hide

I found that personification is my "thing" in my last semester of college. Be it my childhood and always trying to figure life out or some instinct from generations past, I have always wondered what the walls would say if they could talk. I surprisingly enjoyed poetry assignments and this poem never found itself erased from my drive.

Raw Hide

On an old 6-penny nail, in the dank closet,

Hanging motionless against the wall,

He hung awaiting his sentence.

His dreams now forgotten, he had only one job.

He remembered his hopes of shiny adornment,

Like those the cowboys wore,

But was willing to take on being,

The working-man’s support.

His neighbors enjoyed being picked over and chosen,

Gone to dinner or church.

But when the yelling began, the childish mistakes,

He began to sweat.

As the stomping grew louder, and on flew the light,

He’d have hung, head down, if only he could.

This time, that old 6-penny was yanked on one last,

It clanked to the floor.

Folded over just once and tight in the man’s grasp,

No one ever asked how he felt.

He was hoisted to the highest of reaches, then

Brought down so swift the air whistled through his notches.

He felt himself bite, heard the child’s quick yelp,

Followed by sobbing.

Oh! How he hated being used on a child’s

Back end.

Debates on discipline have reached an all-time high. Corporal punishment is as hot-button an issue as abortion and taxes. I simply think consistency is key. Whatever you do, do it consistently. For our family, spanking worked when they were little to stop them from immediate danger, but did little in the way of encouraging them to think. If used to teach boundaries, why wouldn't a map work? Have you ever thought how the belt felt? The spoon? Any other instrument for exacting your special brand of discipline?