stunned
its the only word I can think of
the only word that slips out
stunned
she hit you
you healed for two weeks
sequestered at the home of a doctor
who was a friend of our father's
she hit you
because you wouldn't stop
your crying
so she hit you
until you stopped
crying
stunned
my tongue fails me
but not my imagination
and that's the problem
and perhaps that is why i am cringing
from my insides to my out
my skin has been filleted
my head's trying to disconnect from the body
so my body cannot feel
I am like a hanged man dancing in the air
trying to escape the inevitability of gravity
and the stares
I can not erase the picture
you've imprinted on my mind
she hit you
til you stopped crying...
so how does a three year old
understand how to stop crying
when they are in pain
I can not grasp this
dose of insane
they say mothers and fathers do the best they can
but I can not self-explain this,
the picture I once had of her
is now in quite a different frame
and though I know this was a singular incident
I know how she did it once again
and it was me
but I wasn't three
I was thirteen.
copyright April 10 2012 all rights reserved by author