Days of Innocence
The days of innocence were the ones where we would tell one another to ‘shut up’,
Like the command of silence was the greatest insult to be exposed to our young ears and minds,
But now that innocence was stolen leaving us unprotected and vulnerable to the cruel words of the human tongue,
Words that would break us down, leaving scars on our minds and cracks in our hearts,
With every word, every lie, every command of silence, the ears of children were poisoned, telling them to listen and obey,
The screaming left scratches that stung our eyes, the ice cold glared leaving bruises on our skin that made us shake with the ice cold reality of fear,
The children once so pure, so full of life, shut down as their eyes darken, the soul of a child abused and hiding in fear,
A heart so cracked it shatters at a single harsh word,
a mind so scarred that even the slightest change in tone causes it to shut down in fear,
These are the children who grew to listen for footsteps in the halls,
The children who grew to please in any way they could,
The children who learned to wear the mask of a smile to not upset others,
These are no longer children but the teenagers of our modern day,
The ones who learned that homes could be minefields and could explode with one wrong step,
These people have fought wars in places that should’ve felt safe,
Hurt by those who should’ve protected,
Scolded and scarred by the ones who were meant to nurture,
These scars are left on the mind, creeping onto the skin as the child learns it deserves pain,
Discipline is confused with abuse in the young scarred minds as it tries to teach itself perfection,
Something that has never been achieved but must be practiced in order to feel safe in their own home,
Pain isn’t love yet love is pain,
Do not confuse one with another,
Or you will search with the broken,
To hide the scars,
Fix the shattered hearts,
Searching for the soul,
Of the child that they once were.
Posted Aug 25, 2022, 4:22 AM UTC
I want to cry . this is such a somber realistic slice of a memory . If it brought you any release to write it I hope someone else reading it can know the truth in it and shield another child from the pain the child in this piece felt. I loved it and I hated it truthfully. But it was beautifully written