FicWad

babydoll clutches onto blankets and stars
she hears the yelling rising from below
she knows that running won't take her far
daddy and mama will let her know

that

she can't leave their strangling embrace
she can't cry out for fear she'll be caught
moonlit teddies and curtains of lace
childhood memories drift up of when they fought

they punched her dizzy
they slapped her; no mercy
they beat her; stayed busy
they kicked her; count to thirty

while singing songs with maniacal grins
they locked her in closets and spat on her dress
brother, oh brother he helped starve her thin
making her look like a whore, oh what a mess

of accidents and shards, oh what a pity
little girl with her body all torn
ragged doll meant to look stoic and witty
battered child wishes she was never born

ashes to ashes, we all fall down
sing a song of escape, my fair lady
hide child, hush child, make not a sound
the little one's joy is all warped and hazy

she's whipped and she's broken
her heart's all in pieces
huddled complaints are not spoken
refuge or hope is all she seizes

yet goes another dawn, another night
in a room full of whisper-soft kittens
perched on her bed until it breaks daylight
eyes bruised and lips cracked and bitten

little hands tug the doorknob
they caress gashes and sores
Aria knows that she must not sob
or she'll be sent to the morgue