They Didn't Have Tattered Clothes
Children Need Your Voice
brushed hard onto a canvas
-cuts, scrapes, bruises,
torn deep into cottony flesh. No, their flesh.
Paint, slanting, tilting, flying past borders
images of anger, frustration, depression.
My own helplessness, unavoidable.
I see them. Each of their faces,
Some yellow-beige, others black as ebony.
Their tears haunt my dreams.
shattered voices, long lost pieces of life.
Circumstance cursed them.
They stand before the judge,
longing for, needing, the beauty of life back.
Lost children, empty shells of what they were.
The gavel falls thrusting a hole
through their sodden masterpiece.
Innocent eyes shut, stained
by salty tears dried on precious skin.
They are alone,
hanging onto their broken canvas.
Published by Susan Elliott
Susan Elliott's poetry has appeared in both print and online formats. Susan has recently published her first two Kindle books: Wandering Through a Barely Functional Mind and Ink Blots on Paper. View profile
- An Overview of State Child Abuse and Neglect RegistriesAlmost everyone knows that each state maintains a sex offender registry, but few people know that each state also maintains a child abuse and neglect registry. Unlike sex offender registries, people are placed on chil...
- Emotional Child Abuse and NeglectThere are some common traits and themes that occur within a child that has been emotionally abused or neglected. These are important to know and understand because they can scar a child for life.
How to Sponsor a Child Through Save the ChildrenMake a difference in the life of a child in the USA or around the world and sponsor them through the Save The Children organization for $28 a month, that's less than $1 a day. Y...- A Father's Playground Plea: Save the Children from SandbursTaking steps now to remove sandbur plants from playground will save your children from excruciating pain.
- The Effects of the "No Spanking Law" on Child Abuse in Sweden
- Child Abuse and the Behaviors Associated with Domestic Violence
- Does Time Change Over Thirty Years of Child Abuse?
- Child AbuseWatch.Net (CAN)- the National and Worldwide Child Abuse Prevention Reso...
- The Many Faces of Child Abuse: Types, Causes, Warning Signs, Effects and Treatment...
- How to Recognize and Report Child Abuse
- Child Abuse - Will You Report It?
3 Comments
Post a Commentabsolutely wonderful job.
Poignant poem. Sadly, nothing much seems to change as regards poverty and cruelty. I guess things have moved on in a hundred years, but not fast enough.
Oh, Susan, I cannot even find the words to express how this poem makes me feel. Incredibly moving and emotional!