I look into your eyes
And know instantly that this isn'tâ??t you.
â??Daddy, why are you yelling?
That this is what God wants you to do?â??
Your fist comes down hard on me
And my face starts to sting
â??I do this for you, child
So that one day youâ??ll hear the angels sing.â??
I try to run from you
â??Daddy, please let me go!â??
Why is Mommy hiding?
As Iâ??m screaming, â??Please Daddy, no!â??
You hit me again and again
My body trembles from fear
No matter how loud I scream
It seems as if no one can hear.
You stop hitting me
And drag me to the hallway
I desperately try to run
But your hands on me keep me from getting away.
Daddy, I canâ??t breathe
With your hand around my neck
I know youâ??re sick again
But please, Iâ??m not ready to face death.
You hold me up against the wall
Against it you slam my head
What happened to my daddy?
That just tucked my little sister into bed?
â??God has spoken to me.
This is exactly what he wants me to do.â??
Youâ??re voice is so calm.
Afraid, my big eyes stare at you.
The tears begin to fall
As I desperately gasp for air
No one will help me
As long as they believe your sickness is there.
Blood trickles down the back of my neck
My vision begins to get dark
You say to me
â??It is on Godâ??s journey you are about to embark.â??
â??I love you, Daddyâ??
I whisper softly to you
Your words stopped
As the grip you had around my neck grew.
Then you dropped me on the ground
And you walked away.
I gasped for air
And you had nothing left to say.
Mother came out from hiding and went to you
Brother came home from running away.
Sister climbed out of bed to go to me
But Daddy sent her back and all she could do was obey.
The next day everything was normal
My bruises made them turned their heads away.
I looked desperately at my mother
But she had nothing to say.
Daddy, you seem to be better
Because youâ??re all smiles again
You call me to you and ask
â??Rose, when did this happen?â??
I wanted to cry and tell you
But what if you hated me for what I said?
â??Daddy, last night while I was sleeping
I fell off of my bed.â??
