When I was a Kid

When I was a kid 

we hid behind doors

so that daddy wouldn't see us 

and get mad.

And maybe hit us.

When I was a kid

I thought I saw a demon once.

Sitting on a bookshelf outside my Daddy's den.

Maybe it was my imagination

but I was scared of that hallway when it was night.

When I was a kid

my Mom and Dad made my sisters and I 

scrape off wallpaper in the hallway with butter knifes.

I read about a girl who scraped wallpaper off 

but it was figurative of her skin

so that's what I was always thinking when we did that.

When I was a kid

there was a story I had to read

where this man hung his wife 

and in my head it was in my room where it happened.

When I was a kid 

my sisters and I played Cinderella dress up

and at the time I thought it was so magical.

But I curse when I said that because it was so sick and so wrong

and my eyes couldn't see what was going on.

When I was a kid

I relied on my sisters because my mom was always sleeping

and never there to help her kids,

because sleeping was her escape from the world.

Author's Note

This is what my friend texted me one night, so I decided to make it into a poem. I love her, and I feel so bad for her.

Reviews

[SheActsLikeSummer]

This is, as Follow the Phoenix has said, very heart wrenching. It's so sad, reminds me of the song Concrete Angel.

[The White Wolf]

Such a heartwrenching story. For all those who have suffered abuse, especially as children, have been exposed by trauma and that leaves a scar. My heart goes out to your friend. Your poem was beautiful and meaningful, thank you for sharing it:)

[Roe]

Short but emotional great write