Outline

People like me do not live We survive Day to day and hour to hour Born into poverty Raised in abuse We ate trash We were trash And no one cared Alzheimer's stole her mind I watched her peel away Through the years And I watched her die I heard her screaming through the walls And she finally died, my Mymaw Then, Raped by love Molested by secrecy He was my first step-dad I tried to kill him But he knew! And the chamber was empty. What good is a gun without any bullets? So, I tried to leave But the locked doors kept me alone And they lied It wasn't helping They medicated me Tied me to a bed Repeatedly Repeatedly Repeatedly Blue hands stopped moving Heart pounded heavily And the bed shook with each beat And no one cared 14 months I spent playing their game Toss the ball and smile Write my name and smile Hug the other kids and smile Eat the crappy food and smile I was so sick of smiling! Inside I was screaming! Why the hell did I try to make it right by choosing to go there? GOD, what a mistake! I came home to a broken mother She hated me And she left me alone Loneliness can consume I was pregnant at 17 I married because I had to But he chose not to grow up! Who cared? I did I left and went to college Alone with a baby boy And I struggled And tried And did well Off to University ...and I failed Single parenting was mad It ruined my work My transcript looked sad Almost as sad as me I worked at McDonald’s This is where I learned I stole nuggets for my son And snuck eggs in my pockets Cold fries My son seemed happy I wasn't McDonald's had crookedness And their selfishness stole from me I became a shadow I hated everything Then I found love He is a good man Adopting me and my son Helping to sooth the burning scars And to open my eyes and heart I could breathe once more I had another boy And he is special Because he is like me He feels everything And gets hurt So, I protect him Because I know And I teach him To fight to live! MS takes me It steals me It kills me And no one cares Cancer kills three My Sister, Lee Anne Father and Aunt All in the same year! All in the same month! I hate August! I am old Old and beaten I am done Life is done There sets the sun ...but, my kids still need me