It knows where to find me Clinging and gripping Onto something hardly tangible It hovers nearby Waiting and knowing Its presence My reminder That what I grasp for Does not belong to me That what I need Exceeds what I can wish for
Acrylic painting – expression of a sexually abused teen – by Sara
They filled your mind with promises An array of enticing colors Leading you up a perilous climb Achieving their desired seclusion
They lined your path with shackles Disguised as your own choices Led to a room with no exits, teetering On a place demanding submission
Close enough to rescue that its light Shines like a beacon upon you Yet others cannot see what they do not wish to see Leaving you doused in invisibility
They handed you poison dressed up as a toy An undetectable trap It feels heavy in your arms Yet you dismiss its discomfort Just as you were instructed
You were chosen You were special You stood out to them in some way
You hold their secrets Quiet and steady Not letting them see How it makes you tremble
You were never meant to understand The position they put you in Blind obedience is the Tower they constructed In the labyrinth you now reside
This weight placed upon you Was never your choice Its ensnaring complexity Contrived specifically for you To lure you in and then slowly break You into scattered pieces
I see your pain tucked in deep beneath your Outward strength and courage Far from their grip you stand frozen in time Afraid to step down and see The sight of your suffering Might carry its own weight somehow worse than living in it
How can you know that it is safer below Than the misery you are wrapped in How can I ask more from you Than what you have already given
My questions have sharp edges They swirl around me Gripping, stabbing, and bleeding from me Swarming through my mind Like a dense fog Engulfing me in blind confusion
They tempt me to doubt hope Draping me in loneliness They live deep here Layer upon layer Creating an armor that Keeps me from you
Whispers beg to give voice To my questions To reach for your hand Accepting what you offer
Alarms warn that your Hand is just an illusion Another trick leading To a dark place I know too well
Tightly I hold my questions A line in the sand between me and you A false sense of power Providing no more than Self destructive ammunition For a battle I wish to surrender to
Unravel, dear one Let it pour from you Like dripping sweat Cooling your fiery soul Weep, sweet child Let all that burdens you Melt away with each tender breath
Your inviting light draws me in My companion in the stormy darkness You offer a passage to dull the ache That simmers deep inside
I enter your embrace Dismissive of its cost Longing for sweet relief A retreat within To a place with no name Draping me in your warm Cloak of familiarity
Here the noise quiets If only for a moment Allowing breath to return Foolishly refreshed And unknowingly branded This place feels like home A home I must run from