Out in the street
chalk lines, half-erased,
echo a child's brief laughter.
A rag doll
once her bedtime friend
lies faceless in an empty lot
waterlogged by endless rain.
Behind closed doors
a mother plays a deadly game
full of smiles and flashing eyes.
Two years of baby hugs quite enough now
~ for the young and beautiful.
Behind closed doors
the muffled cries that no one heard
cries that no one listened for
except the toys ~ who were her only witness.
Pictures on the evening news
flash across the screen tonight. . .
A precious package found. . .
broken, torn and dirty
food for animals,
strewn like treats among debris
pieces of a stranger's child
we knew not ~
~ Yet we mourn together
this little life
as if she were our own.
Joanne Cucinello
2009
so thoughtfully done... such a terrible situation.. i cannot even imagine what the grandparents must be going thru... no wonder the grandfather is suicidal,, i can't even begin to taste the salt of their many sharp edged tears... their daughter,, their granddaughter.. how do you live thru something like that.....
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you live through such pain, the nightmares that become real, the terror that fills the heart and the deep sadness that never goes away. As a grandparent myself . . . my heart goes out to them. It is a great suffering to endure.
ReplyDeleteThanks paisley......
It's a sad poem because it is true...very well written in her honor. Why people can't find another alternative will never make any sense to me. If you don't want to be a mother; there are plenty of us women who do...
ReplyDeleteWho try to have children and cannot...this was such a senseless loss.
Cherylyn,
ReplyDeleteYes, it is senseless and one wonders how anyone can fear a helpless child so much that they would do them harm. It boggles the mind and sickens the heart.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.