Help Poem by Pam Eszpnal

A small child walks home from school thinking
About all the things that happened to him.
As he walks up the steps, he sees his Daddy standing there with an evil grin.
Daddy yells at him, “Where the hell have you been? ”
But his son knows not to answer.
He just shuts his mouth,
Hoping his Daddy will be the one to shut up.
But Daddy grabs him the ear while his child is in tears.
He shoves him violently to the floor.
Daddy continues yelling at him as he slams the door.
Intimidated and scared, the child runs up to his room
To hide with his broken toys leaving no soon.
His arms are black and blue with bruises showing.
Next thing he hears is his Daddy yelling,
“Where do you think you’re going? ”
The small child is howling in agony as his Daddy strikes his cheek.
His little body is broken up and he is feeling weak.
The only thing this child hears is the sound of his bones
Breaking with his ringing ears.
Daddy then yanks his hair and starts dragging him down the stairs.
He locks his son in the basement,
And left him all alone.
The poor child is thinking, “This isn’t supposed to be a home.”
He looks around, whimpering, and feeling very scared.
Then he hears the basement door open and footsteps down the stairs.
Oh no, Daddy is back again. He begins worry.
But Daddy does not hurt him, he just stares at him and says, “I am sorry.”
His son stares back at him with cold eyes,
Wondering why, “Are you going to rescue me? ”
Daddy puts on a smile of happiness making his son somewhat pleased.
Daddy then says, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Confused and scared, wondering why his Daddy suddenly cares,
His son is starting to feel like a fool.
But from what he knows, when he walks home from school,
He scared of what Daddy’s going to do.