A distant childhood

I think of muddy shoes and grass, Of running fast, too scared to ask. Scraped-up knees and summer rain, Hiding tears I can’t explain. The laughter’s faint, a distant sound, A ghost of life I never found. Old photos show a stranger’s face — I barely know that time, that place. Behind those walls, the cracks ran deep, Secrets I was forced to keep. A childhood stolen, out of sight — And I still wake from it at night. The worst of it all — it was meant to be safe.