I walk to the court,
rise to the stand,
state my name.
"Tell us your story."
urges a voice.
but all I see
is a blur of faces.
not enough to forget,
but too many to remember.
and when I try to,
in my mind,
the name always floats out of
reach.
leaving me with a palm full of
empty air.

Coming here,
was a mistake.
unless truth,
like an invisable viel,
gets unmasked.
glares are being carved into my
back.
but all I see are those eyes,
always watching,
always staring.
who knew that would be the only thing
I would inheirt from you...

but it was always those eyes,
I would see,
in my nightmares,
in the shadows,
when you snuck into my room
that one late night...
the door creaking
as you slunk into my
sancuary.
your socks whisphering
over my carpet.
you sit on the edge of my bed,
and slip under my covers.

"honey, can you finish your story?"
I glance up,
eyes still smokey,
to see the judge.
I sigh
and
continue to rumage thought my
mental trash bin.
searching for the days when
I felt numb.
back to the days
when I prayed for a way to escape
but i never imagined
what it would be like
whe the police came and took
him away.
but instead of making everyhting
better,
it just left a little girl,
confused,
fatherless,
robbed of her innocince,
and worse-
alone.

hours,
turn into days,
turn into weeks.
the never ending silence
too much to bear.
deniel spring to life
as you stand to tell your tale.
but I keep my head down,
guilt swelling,
and comsuming my soul.

after I walk out of the
judicial system though,
I feel relieved.
the truth has finally laid out on the table.
I played my cards right
and now he
has his whole life to regret it-
if he does.
and all it took was one simple word.
"Guilty."