Thumbing through volumes of past mistakes,

Yearning for a salve of understanding, for heaven’s sake,

The stifling peril of neglect, emotional abuse, and more,

Loves destitute caress, blossoming abnormal behavior to underscore,

How quickly we cling to those comforting aspects,

Replacing absent traits with demeaning characteristics,

Shuffling from one dead-end locale to another,

Oh, Mother…

Convincing ourselves that the most perverse anguish is okay,

Subconsciously rationalizing: this is all we’re worth anyway.

Come journey that road that brought me here,

Experience desolate loss, pain and fear,

Come visit my cage for a day, a week, a lifetime…

Then walk away, unaffected, one teardrop at a time.

~ David Ray Martin #25310-044 Adelanto, California