When No One’s Up


Late at night when no one’s up
And you know you won’t get stuck
Telling every story,
Explaining every feeling,
Do you ever feel like you always have to worry?
And you know you can’t take anyone yelling,
Insisting you let them down.

Late at night when no one’s up
And you know you won’t get caught
Showing how you feel,
Wondering why they always fought.
How come no one saw the pain
That still causes her to drown,
Trying to calm her sister
And show no one her fears.
Wondering why those years led only to tears?

Late at night when no one’s up
And everyone’s eyes were tightly shut
The ominous screams scattered;
Attacking all those around,
Revealing hidden hurt with each different sound.
Two young eyes snapped open.
Wondering why her family had broken

Late at night when no one was up
She would play hide and seek
Just her and the real-life horror movie
That summoned her awake each night.
Seeing the strong woman struck;
Brought to her knees,
The little girl would close her eyes
And hope that when they opened,
The movie would be over.

Late at night when no one was up,
She saw the monster peer into her room,
Avoiding the man, she ran to her Mom
Waiting for her to kiss the tears away,
The figure shouted “Look what you’ve done!”
Down this same hall,
Quickly vanishing after.

Late at night when no one was up
She would hide under soft blankets,
Pretending pillows blocked the sounds
That ran through the walls;
Leaking into every room.

Early in the morning
Mom left for work.
The father hit her, left bruises to hide in school.
She shed tears in class,
Teachers wondered why the young girl
Shuddered at their touch.

In the middle of the day,
She watched carefully,
Ready to be attacked for her three-year-old sister.
He yelled and walked towards her with a knife.
The bruised girl fought back,
Crying and screaming for him to leave her alone,
Hitting him with shoes.
Finally the little girl and her sister went across the street.
No one knew what nightmares they faced.
Their faces flushed with tears.

Late at night when no one was up,
She wrote this poem
Getting rid of some of the past memories that kept her from sleep.
Knowing one day she’ll be able to completely move on.
To show him how far she’s come.
One day she’ll overcome the tears,
Heartbreak,
Horror,
Scars,
Bruises,
And believe in forgiveness again.