A BOOK WITH A KINESTHETIC PAGE

Shoulders fold inward, protecting the wounded heart

body scrunching down hoping the seat will swallow it up

as skinny legs bounce out and away.

Brown pools of confusion stare blankly

seeing only ink jumbled across a page.

Anger puckers pale brows, frustration spills a tear

Desperation communicates as troubled fingers tremble

Those gifted hands trouble to understand

by trying to pluck the print from the page.

An unspoken stoplight glowing neon red.

Tinted sunglasses refract blind color

red appears a yellow glow

The driver slams the gas pedal to the floor.

A backyard bully using the book as an iron fist

to beat the brain to a pulp.

A dictatorship of pride demanding sacred space

in the male species legacy of pecking order

He can't read that printed page

Daddy can't read what his body says

They are a foreign language.

Naked face pleads humility

reflected through layers of pain and shame

I see courage in the degraded gaze

of my own eyes, looking back,

looking up to me.

Reviews

[A hare off]

This one hits the reader hard in the gut. Life, growing up, standing in those lines waiting your turn at the fist of another, makes you a man. I'll choose a different line. This is very deep and dark Cyndy but so well written. The emotions in this are so real and heavy. Great writing.

[Cyndy Robinson]

Thank you my friend. I think I am glad I was born female, lol.