A mask of my flesh
made pleasantly familiar
by Strangers
who, grasping the wild
silk ribbons of my soul,
pull &

stretch each strand of me to be
neatly knitted into the
Fabric of Society.

pony-tailed playmate
head tucked in her shirt
gazing steadily down
at her toes in the dirt

chaos tiptoes around her
naive oblivion
journeys in far away lands
just west of the meridian

watercolor fairy tales
bleeding outside the lines
unaware of the danger
unaware of the signs

let me sit with you, darling
in the dampened flower beds
and paint a new world
for us in our heads

Huddled in a corner
Knees pulled up to his chest
Head bowed upon his knees
He crys

Night after night
Day after day
His parents fight
No one is physically hurt
But all the yelling
Drives him mad

As his parents yell at each other
In another room
Tears roll down his face

He wants to run away
He wants to hide
Leave all fighting behind
.

There are good days
Teese help him hold on
But few and far between they come

He'll sob
He'll cry
As his parents fight
Day after day
Night after night

silence
it subtly begs
your attention

To forgive is to forget,
or so I am told.
Erase the memories
you need to unload.

Self inflict amnesia
absolve from within.
Don’t bare the scars
of another mortal sin.

But I need to remember
I don’t need to forget,
the sorrow I swallow
in each Percocet.

Misery is a friend.
She reminds me often,
the torment I suffered
cannot be forgotten.