Narrow blue eyes
Some empty, some still closed
Uncomfortable, unsure of what to do
I look down at my feet
At muddy shoes on the rug
I stare while my teeth start to chatter
I expected warmth in here, instead
Cold blue eyes.

The eyes tower above
Forcefully smiling at me
I still didn’t want to, but
sent half a real smile
when eyes burned holes in my back.
My face would definitely bruise.
I used to be a pretty girl, now just
Dull blue eyes.

Another minute of struggling,
Of revealing the rust underneath
Their gaze, it makes me sick
The eyes are twitching,
Obsessed with loosening strings
Watching my every move.
Some empty, some still closed;
Hateful blue eyes.

I feel the urge to run,
Escape from their clutches
The door is closed behind me.
They grab me again, drag me back
To paint a smile on my face,
To paint blue eyes narrow,
Framed by long black lashes;
So my blue eyes can stare

At the next pretty girl.

so much depends
upon

a red rose,
tacked

to walls not
mine,

dried to stay
forever.

I focus myself on water,
though I believe I am light.
Not my own, but a reflection on the moon.
Or maybe just the moon on water.

I'm beautiful now

My mother punched until her knuckles bled
I could hear her screaming from up the stairs
I just put in earbuds and washed the dishes
I swear I would help if it weren't for the fear

My mother made a hole in the bedroom wall
With the doorknob of my door
Big sister was having a fit again
And mother couldn't take it anymore

My mother stabbed the kitchen counter
She tried to cut off her hand
Little sister took the knife from her
I tried to just go back to sleep

My mother took the keys and drove off
No one knew where she went
But she had been drinking Smirnoff
I just hid in my room and tried not to think

I hardly ever come home anymore

I talk, and they ignore
The trees
Why won't they respond?

They talk to each other
They whisper
Why do they ignore me

Alone in the forest
I hear words
Amongst the trees

None of them are for me
Alone in the forest

My mouth is flooding
Water pours out and
it pools on the floor

It keeps coming
Pouring and pouring
and pouring and pouring

Why can't I stop
I'm drowning in it
You're drowning too