Learning to Count (1,2,3)

I hope nobody is like this, but I think we could all relate in some ways.

I learned to count in an odd way,

but I practiced constantly through the day.

It wasn't long before I became

a master of counting everyday. 

One was for the one father who left us alone,

Two was for the two siblings who shared my home,

Three was for the three cats that always roamed,

Four was for the four bars my mom left us for.

Five was for the families who turned us away,

Six was for the six days of the week that we prayed,

Seven was the seventh day when we went to church,

Eight were the eight prayers that didn't relieve hurt.

Nine was the nine bottles that sat on the wall,

Ten was all the times that I had to buy more.

Eleven (11) was the two ones, my siblings, who died,

Twelve is all the years that I constantly cried.

Thirteen are the men who left me astray,

Fourteen is the times that I have been played,

Fifteen are the hours of the day that I wait,

Sixteen is the year I thought I'd get my break. 

Seventeen is the year that I grew up a lot,

Eighteen are the months that i spent behind bars.

Nineteen is the months I have left to my life,

Twenty are the reasons I won't live to be a wife.

Life is unfair, cruel, and abusive,

but I've lived and found my own use for it.

So whatever happens in the months throughout

I'll always remember how I learned to count.

Reviews

[Haeshin]

The story starts out simple but grows sad and complex without confusing the reader. Nice.

[Nini]

Again I will say, you truly have a gift of how to put your pain/or pain of others into words. It is a gift because not only is it a way for ones self to heal, it is also therapeutic for others to read who can relate. Nicely written dear.

[iveltac]

Love it. I like how it rhymes. And eveyrone has to learn to count.

[Kamari's]

A path of life is abusive I understand more than you can imagine. I admire you not because of characteristics but from one abuse life to another you understand the one trait I admire is that you went on in life you might of not had the best deal but you played it

[Not here]

This isnt about me, Im just around people who have been through things like this and I wrote this to kind of get the message out I guess you could say. I just wanted to express how others feel

[Briana O'Connor]

I admire the way you took a path filled with grief and related it to a simplistic lesson of learning every person goes through. The pain in is well executed in every line, and passing time is well portrayed with each increasing number. There were a few places where spelling errors were present, and in a couple of the lines the number usage was a bit confusing with grammar usage. This was an excellent read. Thank you for sharing.

[Rounak Jain]

that had so much grief in it. liked the imagination involved in this. good read. Thanks for sharing. Keep sharing. :)

[Ana B.]

Absolutely powerful and simply wow. Very intense words.

[Nessie_AJ]

Wow...this gives me chills! So beautifully written and so much raw emotion...a truly spectacular masterpiece!

[Nene]

Almost made me cry....
It's written beautifully and is full of emotion... The reader can sense the tension and sadness described.... It was breath taking!!!! You used somtime as simple as counting to produce a fine peice,,,, I'm impressed... I loved it

[Demii]

This is a great perspective of counting, and the story behind is sad but powerful. I like the way you made it flow and the theme of the poem. Its good to grow up and see yourself change for the better and be able to walk away from the past. I can relate a lot to this. I enjoyed it good job!