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Elergy

Don’t dismiss me,

I may be young and restless but I know a lot

I hear the iciness in your voice when you speak to mother

I hear the vulgar words she spits at you in a whisper 

Both of you are combatants in a war torn zone I call home

A place where war crimes are rife.

Such irony...I’m surrounded by opulence and a thousand minders

...yet I feel alone, poverty stricken and sad.

My meals are the best any child could wish for 

but my appetite is constantly ruined by the verbal daggers you throw at each other at the dinning table.

You both wonder why I’m sickly

Do you care? (I scream in  head)

As if on cue...you start arguing 

It graduates to arms flying

My minders clear up the carnage after you both declare a temporary cease fire 

While my young heart seeps crimson drops on the expensive oriental rug in my room

I cry in anguish

This is hell...not home

...somebody!save me!

I’m drowning in endless pain!!!!

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Cyprian Van Dyke]

Michael Myers came to mind. All the screaming that came his way put too much voices in his head, for sure. It's not easy letting those voices out when their echo lingers in the back of your head. I love this poem. So many are abused in so many ways. This poem creates that situation, flashback, powerful write. Silence doesn't quite the voices like in space. Many people relate to this. tyfs

[Titilayo Sarah Eguridu]

Brilliantly analyzed.
Long after the events…the echos linger on with earth shattering consequences to the lives of the victims.
Your reviews encourage me.
Thank you Cyprian

[Michael]

“ . . . my young heart seeps crimson drops on the expensive oriental rug in my room . . .”

You are collateral damage.

One writer here, possible a preacher, coined a phrase and made a teaching series out of it:

HURT PEOPLE - HURT PEOPLE.

And, of course, this is true. And yet, it’s polar opposite is true as well:

HEALTHY PEOPLE - HELP PEOPLE.

This is my prayer for you, that through the cathartic release of poetry, you move to good health and can, thereby, help others.

[Titilayo Sarah Eguridu]

Amen!
Thank you so much Michael.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

this is a tearful, aching, vulnerable and regretful narrative. every child deserves a happy home, yet they seem to be few and far between. my own childhood was overall a happy one, but i still haven't forgotten the fights my parents had - that lead to divorce. i know the feeling of being powerless and helpless. when you're just a child, your parents are supposed to protect you - but when they become the source of anxiety, where do you turn to? this was a heavy work, but a story that needs to be told.

[Titilayo Sarah Eguridu]

There is so much going on in the world and children bear the brunt of a great chunk of the poor choices adults make.
I work with children; believe me when I say I have a seen and heard a great deal of unpalatable stories.
The outcome of this kind of trauma is life long without therapy.
Thank you for always bringing a fresh perspective to my work.

I appreciate you Ern.

[John the Baptist]

This one is filled with pain and anxiety. The speaker is young and apparently lives with the family. The home, however, is a "war torn zone" where the parents regularly verbally, and possibly physically, abuse each other, oblivious to the effect on the child. This kid is going to need some serious counseling to erase the emotional scars. No child should have to deal with such a situation.

[Titilayo Sarah Eguridu]

Thank you for reviewing my work John.
The emotional damage done to kids in this kind of circumstance is horrid.The only solution is counseling.