What I run from
What I cower and hide from
Follows me
As close as my shadow.
And when I feel I’ve finally
Outran it,
Just for a moment
Escaped it
And slammed the door
Before it could enter my world,
That is when
The walls begin to whisper
Its threats,
Its lies,
It’s coming.
I curl up in the corner,
Surround my body in a blanket
Prepared to fight,
To defend my space.
My small
But safe space.
The walls still whisper,
Mumble far too clearly
Their message of pain.
The from under the door
I hear them coming again,
I hear their whisper
Rise to clear speech,
Explode to a yell.
There’s no way to get out now,
They’ve found me,
They’re drawing nearer
And their objective is clear.
Covering my ears cannot block
The announcement of their arrival.
I hold tight to my blanket,
Prepare myself
For the pain I’ll soon endure.
And then they’re here,
The first one
Is the roughest,
The meanest,
After that,
They come many at a time,
All attacking,
All screaming pain
And I try to block them out.
Try to focus on something else,
Just to survive,
Just to make it,
Now that they’re here,
Now…
That the tears
Have come.
Age 15
What I cower and hide from
Follows me
As close as my shadow.
And when I feel I’ve finally
Outran it,
Just for a moment
Escaped it
And slammed the door
Before it could enter my world,
That is when
The walls begin to whisper
Its threats,
Its lies,
It’s coming.
I curl up in the corner,
Surround my body in a blanket
Prepared to fight,
To defend my space.
My small
But safe space.
The walls still whisper,
Mumble far too clearly
Their message of pain.
The from under the door
I hear them coming again,
I hear their whisper
Rise to clear speech,
Explode to a yell.
There’s no way to get out now,
They’ve found me,
They’re drawing nearer
And their objective is clear.
Covering my ears cannot block
The announcement of their arrival.
I hold tight to my blanket,
Prepare myself
For the pain I’ll soon endure.
And then they’re here,
The first one
Is the roughest,
The meanest,
After that,
They come many at a time,
All attacking,
All screaming pain
And I try to block them out.
Try to focus on something else,
Just to survive,
Just to make it,
Now that they’re here,
Now…
That the tears
Have come.
Age 15