Poetry

Manipulation by Trevor Thompson
Manipulation

The manipulation of my mind,

Is not something I take fine,

But if you must I must ask you,

To only destroy what is not true,

Because the things that I hold dear,

Will always be the things I fear,

That they will be my ultimate fall,

That they will destroy me best of all,

And if you see what’s locked inside,

Then I’m sure you’ll surely find,

The thing that keeps me bound to you,

The only thing that I hold true,

Is the one thing that’s in disguise,

Right in front of your two eyes,

And if you’re clever like I think,

Then you will find it all in ink,

The one true thought I’ve ever had,

Was the one of you that made me glad,

That around you I was never sad. 

... This poem conveys quotation two, the second meaning of manipulation. This is intentional manipulation by people to gain something for themselves. You can tell this because of the use of the word "they" throughout the poem. This displays that someone or a group of people are manipulating the character described in the poem.

    The picture I included is someone who is disguised as someone else. "Is the one thing that's in disguise, Right in front of your two eyes," is from the poem. There is someone or something that is in disguise, meaning that it's true identity isn't being shown. This could be a physical disguise or your clouded judgement that has been manipulated by someone else could disguise them. This person could be right in front of your two eyes, but can't be recognized due to this disguise.

    In my Flash Fiction story, "The Not So Good Friends," Ernie and Frank betray Chris by manipulating him. They "disguise" themselves as Chris's friend so they can acquire something for themselves. They manipulate him into stealing the key and then taking the sports equipment.

"Chris snatched the key and headed towards the equipment closet. Chris opened the closet. Then, he saw Ernie and Frank enter the room. "Thanks, buddy!" exclaimed Ernie. Frank began collecting supplies from the room. That's when Chris realized he had been tricked." (Not So Good Friends, MacAlpine)