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

[Kimberly Miller]

Amazing! This poem was written in such a unique and thought-provoking way! I love how well the words flow and still deliever meaning!

[The unthinkable]

This was such an amazing poem!!! You almost made me cry. You where so clever through out the entire poem and kept an awesome flow i hope to read a lot more of your poems in the future.

[Not here]

I got plenty more up if you want to look at them, and thank you for your review, I really apprecate it!

[Confuser]

DavidKummer7: I loved every single fragile heartfelt word - you are a wonderful writer that just brought tears to my eyes; it is so sad that this is life for so many; Thank you for reminding me. The way you approached this is so very clever and the ending is Slamming>>>>You Are Talented!!! Thank you so very much. Great flow. You slayed it. Dale

[Not here]

thank you alot dale. and im just glad to do my part in bringing attention to the less fortunate who need our support and help. every single one of us knows someone like that, and we all need reminded, including myself

[Confuser]

You are right and I thank you! Dale

[andrew mitchell]

numbers and words all nicely entwined. an enjoyable story. thanks for sharing

[closed]

there's a lot of depth here

good use of numbers to create a literary concept

-Dream

[Jamestown]

Very creative! I really enjoyed this piece, thanks for sharing and b-blessed!

[Coyote Poetry]

Powerful use of numbers and thoughts. Allowed the reader to understand the strength of the numbers.
"Life is unfair, cruel, and abusive,
but I've lived and found my own use for it."
Many ways to add up a life. I liked this one. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Not here]

hey well if you like this one you might want to check out a few of my others. this tends to be a topic i write about alot....not sure why?

[Coyote Poetry]

Writing is release. Allow us to dispersed to paper. Good to write down disappointment. Later in life. May save us from repeating the sins of our father.

[Not here]

or our robot uncles, depending on our family history. just kidding, and yes i totally agree with you

[Cindy Marietta]

You wrote this in a really creative way that worked really well, made the story behind it much more intense and meaningful. Really good and relatable

[Not here]

Thank you amanda :)

[Cool Girl]

I freakin love this!!! It's so freakin sad, but I freakin love it!!! I seriously almost cried..
There's just so much emotion and passion and sorrow and regret and hopelessness...
You really did a remarkable job on this one, David!! :)

[Not here]

Thanks cool girls :)

[Cool Girl]

You're welcome:)

[Not here]

Just so you know, this is not about me. It is about everyone who can relate in any way and who has suffered injustices.