No Father, Pleae Poem by Patrick Shields

It's dark outside swollen rain clouds fill the sky
Like the very depths of this imperfect heart
Thunder rattles the sky and lightning brightens the heavens as they began to cry
I hug myself tightly as the storm inside my house starts

My father storms in alcohol moving through his veins
His voice almost mutes the thunder overhead
As he shouts only my name
I just cower in a corner instead

I her his footsteps coming up the stairs
Each footstep makes my heart skip in the worst way
He reaches the second floor my door swings open with him standing there
He stands breathing heavily

He walks over to me I'm praying not again please
His hand encoils around my neck tightly
My feeble hands try to remove his but there is no sign of release
I find no voice or air to scream help me

What feels like a mallet hits me in the left cheek
And then another one in the right and nose
Hope for rescue begins to look bleak
Blood slides from my nose to my lip like a stream from a hose

Eventually lack of oxygen makes me collapse
I wake up hours late the taste of blood is fresh
Dried blood covers my chin, lips, and nose I know this won't be the last
That for being imperfect I'm severely punished