Disaster...painful tragedy of a childhood

wrapped in crooked straights with words like the laces

boxed up in places with only fluorescent light

Rules without meaning

and days quickly careening

toward a horrible end

lay down your head here

on the master's lap; dog

and it will give what you need

to escape

a child afraid

of the light of day

forced to play

in new, strange ways

for a reward

that steals the mind

and steels the heart

at the same time

Light cannot enter

where brambles abound

Words cannot get through

where the voices are drowned

Even a touch will only chase

a timid soul from their hiding place

Years fall like leaves

since the first snow

on the ground outside

the only Christmas they know

Celebrations and smiles

presents and more

But all the while

a child cries

on a bare kitchen floor