a child, she still is

 

 

The sound of the garage door escalating

Fear rushing through the children

Abruptly dashing to get the chores done

or at least appear to be

3:15pm right on time

Another day

Another nasty mood

Irrational yelling

The children are ridiculous

The children are good for nothing

They are to be seen and not heard

She spots the ice tea container on the counter

The children are no longer allowed to make ice tea

Not for the rest of their lives

Irrational yelling

Singled out

Grab the child by the hair

Pull the child through the house up to the bedroom

Begin to remove the draws out of the dressers and throw them on the floor

Thrust the books and things off the shelves

Hit the child over the back with a plastic telescope

Accidental

Irrational yelling

Name calling

In the aftermath

The irrational speaking

The meaningless absence of apologies

The children are told sorry but it is still their fault

The useless embraces

The children reject any form of kindness

Internally

Sense of being artificial

The child does not remember much today

Today when she is not a child

It is all a blur

The child remembers what it feels like to be a child

She still is

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[SweetPeachesAlways]

I GET THIS!
She spots the ice tea container on the counter
The children are no longer allowed to make ice tea
Not for the rest of their lives

Wow...you put into words what I'm sure a lot of parents have felt and a lot of children. Great job on the writing!

Today when she is not a child - Yes!

[DiamondNRough AKA Patty..]

Oh the cycle of abuse...Mental Emotionally, Physically and sexually, last a life time. GREAT POEM about a terrible reality so many of us are forced to live with.

[Cece]

i fear i smell
child abuse
i'm number one
against child abuse
attention should be
brought against child abuse

i dont know if thats the goal
but i felt that as i read

[Belinda Rice]

wow this sad but a good write this really does happen to children in the us and around the world i hope to see more of you writng..........great write.....bee

[Requiem]

I agree with JC Fox. This is a very powerful write. It's heartbreaking when teenagers look back and they don't really have a childhood.

[JC Fox]

This was a powerful and well written poem, it shows what it's like to live in fear and to revert to that childlike state.