Night fades, an awakening dawn,
Awaken by the same song bird
Singing from the soul, bittersweet memories heard
A window ledge looking out to the grand oak trees upon the lawn,
Squirrels playful in flight, shaken autumnal leaves; magenta & fawn
A lowly stray cat jumps, chases leaves that swirl, a baby bird at first flight, sight blurred
The cat pounces, a thief to his prey he captures, flees out of sight; the girl watches without a word
A cacophony of deafening sounds force their noise up the narrow stairwell, the song bird is gone

Pounding feet; her father he frightens the song bird far far away, a silence forms,
In her nightdress the girl she grabs the soft torn eared teddy,
Her tiny feet silently tiptoe, she lays flat on the old dusty wooden floor:
Hiding under the four poster bed, her fearful breaths deep & heady
Her heart misshaped as trampled by his feet, her soul mourns
Filled with the same fear she faces each & every day, all that remains is the locking of her bedroom door.

© Sia Jane