Escaping the Reality of You

Times in my life I suppose,

Weren’t always as simple as they appeared.

At six years old I really didn’t understand much of what was happening around me.

I struggled to understand

Struggled to wrap my child-like mind around you.

I used to sit alone under our really tiny porch

That was attached to our little white trailer.

It was my safe place, my sanctuary.

But, I was never really able to escape from reality there.

I could still hear your displeased voice echo through the house.

I would sit there and watch as all my sisters filed out of the house one by one,

To escape your dreadful yelling.

Though I was never able to escape there.

I remember truly feeling free from the reality of you

When I would run through the tall green grass

That hadn’t been mowed in a couple of weeks.

And I remember loving the way my brown hair swayed as I ran.

The feeling of the wind nicking my cheeks,

And the grass on my bare feet.

I loved the way the sun warmed my skin

And danced in my chocolate brown eyes.

And your voice faded into the wind.

That is when I truly felt free.

Free from the reality of the pain that you caused

My mom, my sisters, and me.

I will never forget that feeling,

Even if the feeling was brief.