Dear Amberle,

At one

your life had just begun

A sweet, smiling tot

Blind of the horrors in which you were brought

Out of your control and beyond your reach

I remind you that you’re not to blame for this breach

Growing steady and fast in the blink of an eye

I couldn’t believe the day you turned five

I watched as you blew out the candles dripping in wax

Wishing that mother would take it all back

I knew you were too young to understand this vile routine

But for me, at thirteen, I was put in between

To protect you from the monsters living so near

We would run at the sound of the crack of a beer

The drunker she got, the more i started to fear

That the hatred and violence in her head would sear

I covered your eyes and held to you tight

As we waited and waited for a chance for flight

We fought and braved life in our tortured state

For in just two days you were soon to be eight

But that night mother came home enraged and at the end of her brink

As she threw herself down for a round of drinks

The swearing and shouting were only the first

Of her wad of emotions ready to burst

As she flung open our bedroom door, her eyes fell on you

And at the sight of your flailing limbs, my paralyzed body didn’t know what to do.

Red and blue lights flooded the room

As she was restricted with handcuffs, the woman who filled my world with gloom

Now I sit here before you, reading your name set in stone

Wondering why i didn’t save you on my own

I hope that in heaven you’re doing much better

Than the wretched tale of your life in this letter.

 

Love, Jasmine