Tangled in
her innocent
flower embroidered
nightmares
little girl
strung inside
my cage
you bang your
soft little
fists
scratch the walls
of my subconscious
call out
at the bottom
of the stairs
at the top
of my lungs
I cradle you
in my
sleep paralyzed arms,
interlocking
my grown woman
writers hands with your
feeling finger mitts
we both
love
and
fear
the
water
fighting
to keep out
night gowns
out of the toilet
our legs
out of the
sewer drains
but gulping
it down
in wonder
wandering
to the edge
of the ocean
staring
as a leak
springs into
a flood
try to tie up
the shoe strings
they are
undone
there are ghosts
at the tippy top
of the matching
curtains
there are men
under the bed
a betraying boy
in the closet
we tried to
make safe
burn candles
in the pockets
of my skull
so we can
make
brighter
the room
where we
meet each
other
welding
bravery
to the
terror
waning
between us
wax tears
will have to
suffice
the
suffering
