Center of Attention
The life and soul of everyone’s space Invaded Mr. Party Man Center of Attention full of swagger You hear him before you see him because he likes the hush All eyes to be on him and all ears tuned You laugh and giggle You are captivated and he invites you into his world and you feel chosen But you are destined to be his straight man Overshadowed and unseen The butt of his jokes You will be used as his prop and he gets the laugh at your expense The same stories repeated over and over Same you Different audience It will become contentious Because you are no one’s fool let alone this jester Sucking the life from you to fuel his ego Show’s over Curtain down Next! Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing © Lillian is hosting D'Verse Poets Open Link Night Word Prompts: Jester - Word of the Day Contentious - FOWC
Thanks Bill. I certainly agree ☺️
Oh, yes. When my introverted life is invaded by extroverts and I can so feel the energy being sucked away. True life poem well done.
I know that man!! I always have thought strings of jokes were just an excuse to avoid communication.
He was a narcissist I can tell you that much. That’s why he had to be the center of attention, always. I guess you could call that avoidance but in the mind of the narcissist, who knows, right? ☹️
So poignant and honest. Beautiful writing, Christine.
Superbly written, Christine!
I think we’ve all known people like this. They suck the life out of everything else. (K)
Is t that the truth K 😕 Thanks for reading!
I have encountered men like that – and learned the hard way to keep well away! They suck out self-esteem and spit it in your face, while everyone else thinks they are such good sports, born entertainers. I know what you mean about feeling chosen but being destined to be overshadowed, unseen and the butt of his jokes. That kind of man shrinks you and puts you in his pocket, with all the bits of fluff and dust.
Indeed they do Kim. I love your description ‘with all the bits of fluff and dust’. Yes, that’s how they make you feel. Hope you’re feeling better.
I think we can all do without this kind of person in our lives, but for sure we have all met one at least once. Well done, you nailed it!
Thanks Ingrid. The type is ubiquitous 😕
He sounds narcissistic and attention seeking!
Oh for sure! 😬 Thanks for reading!
Excellent description of the dynamics of a toxic narcissist and the string of energy sources they draw from. It’s difficult to forget the love bombing then the emotional wasteland that comes after 🙁
You perfectly describe it Lisa. Did you know him too? Yes the narcissist who uses everyone in his orbit 😕
Oh, yeah; I know this guy, too. Probably better than he knows himself.
You paint so clearly.
Thanks so much Ron. We have all known him from different perspectives maybe 🙂
You really nailed this one to the wall in graphic detail! Yes, we need to avoid the center of attention at all cost!
Well done.
Hey thanks Dwight! We may all know this guy 🙂
I am afraid so!!
Ooh good one!
Thanks Paula! Did you recognize him 😊
Unfortunately 🙁
😕
Wake up call!
Yes indeed! 😳👍
So well depicts many toxic relationships. Hopefully he moves on while his victim can still recover. At such times, it is good to believe in karma and feel assured he’ll “get” his one day!
Thanks Beverly! Karma takes care of a lot of things ☺️
LOVE this! I feel like it needs to be part of some epic rap battle at this point. It started fun and then just ended with an “oh, dang!” moment
What a great take on it KaylaAnn! I never thought of it that way ☺️ Thanks for reading
Whew! That tells quite the story about a particular relationship between two people….symbiotic…one the taker, one the martyr. It’s true isn’t it…with some relationships? One needs the limelight and the other started out being content to bask in the edge of the limelight as long as they were with the person. But then the dysfunctional aspect of the relationship begins and the spotlighted person starts to consume the other person….because the attention of them is waning for some reason. Oh my….you’ve really put your finger on something here. Sadly, the curtain has come down. BUT — maybe …. just maybe …. when the curtain comes down and the “star” moves on to another peon, the one left behind will do some soul searching and find their own self worth….discover they can stand on their own two feet and do just fine, thank you very much.
What a fascinating post….as you can see, it got me thinking! And isn’t that the mark of a good writer?
Lillian you hit the nail on the head! One of the word prompts today was ‘Jester’ and it reminded me of a relationship I had a long time ago. He was a big jokester and very charismatic and yes, I did, disappear. He was larger than life and very funny but it got really old. I look back and wonder why I wasted so much time not being myself 😕
I’m happy I got it across in my words so that it was understood 👍💕