The Bravest Man Alive

Sat strapped to a chair,
while a man in a mask
brandished instruments of pain.
And pain was indeed inflicted
on the bravest man alive,
with fists clenching in anticipation
at the sound of spinning rotors,
muscles tightening at the
smell of grinding metal,
buttocks rising off the seat
with every touch of
steel blades on bone and tissue.
Yet the bravest man alive
stayed silent throughout the ordeal,
and with one final sound
of breaking bone,
it was all over.
The bravest man alive
smacked his lips
to the taste of blood,
and his tongue could feel
the soft, torn flesh in his mouth
where his front tooth used to be.


*Conceived Saturday, 22 June 2013