I am made of red wrath and thorns
Fast, sharp, violent, and deemed an icon worthy of guilt
My life's full of twists, twirls and throws;
I clung to German biker gangs, knife-crazed assassins, and bulls with horns,
Stole precious gems, started riots, and assaulted officers to the hilt,
In and out of authority's spotlights and society's shadows
But look! Beyond my petal core blooms an inner power;
never to fall, never to decay, never to wilt,
a root of strength built from poor streets past that spreads and grows
All the more to admire this wild flower -
Ellie Rose
A/N: The Shakespearean line was perfect for Ellie for her name and persona. Speaking of Shakespeare, he was known for a certain type of poetry - the sonnet. But the one I used here isn't the version that is aptly named Shakespearean sonnets. The one I used is called a 'curtal sonnet'. Unlike regular sonnets that run at about fourteen lines, curtal sonnets are shorter spanning at about eleven lines or so with the last line registered as a tail (or half of a line). One of two rhyme schemes can be used - abcabc dcbdc or abcabc dbcdc.
But regardless of the differences, traditional sonnets are often linked to romance. Even though I originally wanted to include in a pairing in this poem, it didn't work out so instead I looked to the volta, or sharp or thematic 'turn'. Voltas can be used to summarize, provide new interpretations or present arguments within the poem's themes.
I went with the latter and wrote it as though she is proud to make the argument that yes she did all of this criminal activity, but she is still someone to root for because of her strength in her abilities. And because sonnets are often considered formal, even proud and snobbish to a degree, a sonnet seemed to be a fit for her.
And thanks to YouTuber and Henry Stickmin fan Two Left Thumbs and his video on Ellie Rose, I became a supporter of this backstory for Ellie; at one point she was not only someone who had to tough it it out on the streets, she also ran with the German biker gang that is mentioned in Punkhauser's bio from Fleeing the Complex. It would explain why when she fuses with Henry and becomes Ellry, they sport a mohawk, sort of like the one Punkhauser wears...
Anyhow, enjoy!