But No One Says Anything

She comes to school with rings of bruises around her eyes Her hair looks like birds have nested in it But no one says anything Her clothes are dirty and torn She rarely speaks Her face reminds me of a book with no writing The right lens to her glasses has a crack that never gets fixed Skinny as a toothpick, Janna stands looking up at her father, like he’s a leopard ready to pounce, as he picks her up from school But no one says anything A dark man with curly black hair “Let’s go Janna”, he says, grabbing her by the wrist “I don’t want to go”, she says, her eyes shot with fear But no one says anything He pulls her along with him as she stares back at the other children longingly, their perfect braids, brand new Gap jeans, and pea coats Their mothers greeting them with warm smiles, baby siblings held in their arms Her father opens the small green mini van’s scratched door and helps Janna in with a little too much force He slams the door and speeds away as tears fall down Janna’s face But no one says anything The next day Janna comes to school with a chipped tooth, a bubbly fat lip, a welt the size of a snow globe on her left leg One finger nail on each hand seems to be missing But no one says anything Her knees tremble as her eyes drift right and left, as if a rhinoceros has just bolted out of its cage, coming right for her Her eyes drift over the classroom clock, while she listens to the tick-tock, tick-tock It gets closer and closer to 3 o'clock, and her soft blue eyes fill up with tears But no one says anything Her father greets her, the same events of yesterday take place today Just like every other day But no one says anything