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a poem in four parts (that is not finished yet.)
Michael never wore his shoes
He preferred to keep his feet occupied
He walked on his toes
And none of us every thought to ask him why.
He kept quiet for days
His light hair and soft eyes
He never said a word
And we never heard him cry
He was broke into
By a man named You.
A man that kept words on alters
And kids on leashes
A man that watched us
While we were sleeping
Michael sometimes whispers
Whispers to people we can’t see
He giggles at night
And opens his veins, but closes them
When we walk by
He can’t lie
Though sometimes we beg
For him to please try
He can’t hurt him
Not the man named You
He can’t hurt him
Like we want him too.
Michael doesn’t whisper anymore
We walk by his door, quietly watching
He doesn’t say much anymore
He was broke into
By a man we call, You
A man that leaves kids
Sally doesn’t sleep anymore
And she can’t count sheep
She counts bruises and mean words
And teardrops on her pillows and her sheets.
She never cared much
For the man named You
She left him standing alone
Many times before
She’d watch him sleep
Him sleep
HIM
She would cry
Anger, jealous, and vanity
She would cry.
Sally doesn’t bleed anymore
And she doesn’t eat
People can’t see her anymore
Red and sticky arms
Red and sticky teeth
She watches the man
The man named You
She watches him
And the kids he breaks into
She tries to stop it
She screams
But she’s too little
Sally doesn’t need anymore
She’s got no hope
Sally can’t see
Her eyes are broken
She’s magic
Magic
Tore in two by a man
We call You.
Dottie watches out windows
Watches life through glass these days
She married a man
A three time before
That she would soon learn to hate
She loved three men
One when she was young
One who would desert her
And one who would hurt her
Kept awake
By the sounds of her pain
We pull the sheets up
Up to our ears
And close our eyes tight
As if that would help us
Not to hear.
Dottie never wanted this life
She never wanted ugly
And he never wanted a wife
He never wanted her heart
But he took it anyway
He took everything.
She knows he’s got
A number of girls in his life
Pretty girls, ugly girls
And girls just to take up time
A number of girls in his marriage
And number of lies
In the garage
Boxes of pictures of loves
And lust lie dust covered and lost.
Dottie sleeps a lot
With nothing by her side
She keeps her locket
She keeps her secrets safe
Hurt her too
The man named You
Hurt her more
Than our hearts can take.
The man named You
Was not always You
He was once just a boy
A sad boy
With a broken arm
And a broken mom
Just a little boy
With no home
And no clues.
Just a little boy
That became the man
The man we call You.
