“Man or monster?”

Read the sign in huge blocky letters,

All of the lights in my brain rang to walk away,

But I knew I had to see the grotesque scene,

I sat in the circle-shaped tent alone waiting while my leg bobbed up and down in anticipation,

My mind began to wonder what he would act like, would he diminish himself solely for this show?

Was he always acting in this manner?

“INTRODUCING!!!!!! THE ONE!!!! THE ONLY!!!!!!! MAN OR MONSTER!!!! IS HE A MAN??? IS HE AN ABOMINATION???”

My mind comes back after hearing those words,

I was ready to see him.

Out came a cylindrical cage covered in a wine-colored cover-

the cage didn't appear to be shaking,

And the silence coming from up there kept me mute

Finally

The ringmaster removes the wine cover to reveal a shriveled human,

Its bones peaked under its transparent skin littered with veins,

Its mouth is the color of dried blood and its body is hunched in an unhuman scene

Its overgrown hair covered its downwards-faced complexion

The ringmaster snaps for him to look up to the crowd

The glimmer of astonishment in my eyes changed to disgust as I recognized his eyes as my own,

I look down in shame at the twisted, emaciated mirror image in front of me,

When does a man become a monster?