The Game

My best friend in elementary school with eyes so cold,
Would sit in the corner of the playground and softly scold,
Her arms had black and blue bruises scattered around,
That she hid from the other kids, walking without a sound.

Her eyes were filled with painful memories hidden by tears,
From being broken down and beaten over her seven years,
And she held out her hand for me to take one sunny day,
When she told me that there was a game she wanted to play.

The game that her parents had taught her as she sat me down,
And she looked deep into my eyes as she started to frown,
I asked her what was wrong, that's when she turned and said:
"You won't understand this game, they do it to get in your head -

My Mom holds me by the wrists as my Daddy takes off my pants,
And in my ears, these awful words they both will start to chant,
But if I don't cooperate, they'll make these marks on my body,
They say that I deserve it and this is what I was meant to be - "

And as I look into my cracked mirror, thinking back to that day,
I can remember the look in her eyes and what she would say -
"It's okay though, I know deep in their hearts they still love me,
But for an outsider like you, it's just too hard for you to see."

My best friend in elementary school, God bless her loving soul,
For holding on strong until her parents snapped and lost control,
And in the middle of the night, if I feel a light breeze on my face,
I know she's watching over me, secluded in her innocent grace.

-Jenna Elphick
May 28, 2007

[For those that are sexually abused, my prayers are with you.]