She was 12 when everything changed.
The man—
he has no name.

If I could go back,
I’d say:
you don’t get to treat me this way.

Behind the words
were fear and dread.
I walked on eggshells,
quietly,
carefully,
around you.

Watching
with timid eyes,
I should have known—
you weren’t to be trusted.

But I was only 12.