She thought he was her friend

The past is like a can of worms unopened and her mind has chosen to erase

another trophy of childhood trauma she carries but never faced

Why was it normal to them?

A grown man being friends with a child,

taught to blow kisses

groomed and surely doomed,

A fatherless one earning for a figure but preyed upon

if she spoke, they would have said she had demons, brought her to church and be prayed upon

But why was it normal?

Only she knows what happened behind closed doors when they were alone

the start of the origin story of another angry broken black woman from a broken home

failed by all the adults she’s ever known

BUT WHY WAS IT NORMAL?

didn’t they see her change, from being the loudest and wild to being the quietest child,

oh a such trouble soul and on her shoulders she carries the world,

Because she thought he was her friend.