A small stream of sunlight
through the foliage
illuminates a noose
hanging from a tree.
A swirling darkness surrounds it,
the sounds of fractured voices
whispering relentlessly.

He cried
until capillaries burst.
She screamed
until vocal cords shook.
They all pleaded
again and again—
but their words
fell on deaf ears.
No one protected them,
no one picked them up.
They learned to walk
on broken legs,
and no one questioned
why they limped.

Obviously in the wrong state of mind.
Unexpected.
Tragic.
—or was it
blindingly obvious?

She tried her best,
learning to be a parent
while still a child herself.
It was her first time living.
People make mistakes—
but hers left bruises,
cracked bones
that never quite healed.

Children aren’t meant to be broken.
And yeah, maybe she was still learning,
but so were they.