He Smiles

A poem I wrote for National Child Abuse Awareness Month

Child in a playground,
Talking with his friends.
Smile on his face,
Wish it'd never end.

Swinging on the monkey bars,
Going down the slide.
He trips over his shoe lace,
And only then realizes the time.

Its time to say goodbye.

Trudging down the street,
Knows he will be late.
So he picks up his head,
And quickens his pace.

Making his way to the door,
He looks up to the sky.
Then his mother walks out the house,
And begins to ask why.

She says, "Why were you late?
We were so worried.
I thought you'd never come home,
And that made your father Furied."

The kid walks inside,
Knowing the worry won't last,
For his father came,
With alcohol in a glass.

The father sees the son,
And soon becomes angered.
Storms over to the kid,
While the alcohol in his breath lingers.

Throwing the kid down,
He calls him worthless,
And kicks him a few times,
Which will surely leave More bruises.

He then breaks his beer glass,
And yells a few more words
Before he takes a broken piece,
And stabs the child's arm.

The kids tears stream down his face,
As his father beats him more.
Slowly losing consciousness,
He smiles...

For he knows this pain that he endures,
He won't have to go through anymore.

Reviews

[V]

What a sad and negative twist in the little poetic story you shared. A heartfelt poem though I have to criticize the pattern, it often reads clumsy with lines which don't properly rhyme. I think if you revised it, made the flow smoother or even turned it into something more of a free verse poem, it'd read better.

[Jazzlyn B Barden]

The rhyming on this was supposed to be sloppy. It started out with a consistent writing scheme then as the child gets more upset, and it gets more chaotic, the rhyming starts getting sloppy and inconsistent then becomes non- existent

[V]

Ah ok thanks for the explanation.

[The Realist]

Whoa that was a kick to the gut..... Awesome wright Jazzlyn B Barden.. That was intense... but i loved it non the less.

[Unknown Poet]

sad end... I don't believe threatening children makes them good....
It's process of making them rough

[Sir Drift & Mr. Pulse]

devastating ending. gruesome truth. very good poem.

[hcarson]

Sad but it does happen and all too often sadly..good poem shame there is so much reality in it

[Lisavette]

Wow...that was intense imagery. Very good.

[Coyote Poetry]

A sad ending to the poem. Anger and violence. A sad place for a child. Thank you for sharing the powerful words and thoughts.
Coyote