Simple words will never explain

My guilt, my sorrow, my anger, my pain

Betrayed is the first word that comes to mind

More words than that I cannot find

My childhood was cheap, I really missed out

I still carry a lot of baggage and doubt

My memories will haunt me all of my days

They still haunt me in so many ways

Here I sit at two A.M.

Typing poetry on a whim

Once again I cannot sleep

One more promise I cannot keep

I said I'd go to bed tonight

I lay in bed in constant fright

I flash back to my childhood years

And once again I shed some tears

I know I'm safe here, even so

I dream, my eyes are open though

My dad is holding me, not with love

He knocks me off my feet with a shove

He says I have no discipline

He kicks me in the stomach then

He picks me up by my hair

And apologizes then and there

He'll never do it again, he says

Please don't send him to jail, he begs

These mind games always get to me

My mind won't ever again be free

I keep remembering, deeper still

Into my subconscious mind so real

I still remember the beatings so fierce

And my heart, the pain could always pierce

My body is fine; the bruises heal

But the pain I'm describing is even more real

The pain and anguish of being betrayed

In the very place a child should feel safe

At the age of nine, I cried a lot

Because the beatings were hard and hot

I couldn't mentally handle it then

I never had a dad or a friend

The beating was never completely physical

Because underneath it was always mental

Afterward he'd always be sorry

And say he'd never do it again, dont worry

And don't call the cops; he'd go to jail

And cause we caused trouble, we'd go to hell

And we'd never get to go live with our mother

We'd be in foster homes with fake sisters and brothers

And they'd never take care of us or treat us right

So we kept our mouths shut out of fright

It wasnt because we just wouldn't speak out

We couldn't, cause we were afraid he would shout

They're lying, those conniving little kids

And he'd accuse us both of telling big fibs

He'd gripe and accuse, he'd lie and he'd whine

And they'd let him go with a very small fine

The beatings would only get worse, we feared

And he'd change his name and grow a beard

And move us away from everything we knew

We'd never see our mom; he'd control everything we'd do

We could never tell anybody we felt

Cause that would just be one more bruise or a welt

So we kept our mouths shut and said not a word

Which is why our story you haven't heard

We are the American children of the present,

Who get treated worse than slaves or peasants

So if you know of a child living in abuse

You're as bad as the abuser; you have no excuse.

Let somebody know what's going on

So they can try to right the wrong

Help the children get some help