Love Poem: Bonds

Bonds

I was raised      in a prison of darkness
along walls of cement      have I groped
the hearts here      deep scarred and callous
no dreams of a child       had I hoped
 
Starved             for affection and famished
though surrounded by people           alone
sixty four rooms       I could roam in
but that place               was never a home
 
Just one more workhouse            to live in
my duties                   to serve and to clean
no pay                 for the labor was given
I was here to work         and be not seen
 
I could go days            with seeing no parents
went to school        and to work            and to bed
my breakfast                 was in my room coffee
the feral cat           entertained in the shed
 
This building                   has so many toilets
even the master                   one I must clean
I drop like a stone             in my bed at night
I sleep so deeply      to dead to dream
 
Though I live now this place            with my father
it's no different             than with strangers I slept
they too              used me like a work horse
their houses the places               I kept
 
Somewhere was lost to me             childhood
not a human            soul I could trust
I do not know love              it is fiction
as into this life        I was thrust
 
There were times       I wished mother successful
where in the peace            of death I would sleep
the pain of knowing                       I'm unwanted
was to much        for this child to keep
 
I suppose it's                this very reason
I recognize             the true face of Love
the nigh hundred people               I lived with
qualify not of that place         to be of
 
I've been exposed to violence              on children
and all their secrets           I can confide
recognize the damage                it does you
and those who these secrets           do hide
 
It is easy to remain lost here
where no true tracks            be seen on your road
where life             has not direction or guidance
and one is broken           by the weight of its load
 
But there are so many rooms           in this prison
and each every one          has its own trap
the master of death                 who has forged them
place these obstacles     in every path
 
So while your searching           for life and its answers
the only one worthy            to steadfastly teach
should exist       every day in your dealings
and your connections             from greatest to least
 
I'll not care about          the labor I give you
as long as love            my load is light
we will share         in living together
in our unity       we can delight
 
I learned               to take care of your body
but it takes two            for the care of the soul
I could live alone here             without you
but it's the sharing         that makes us whole...
 

COPYRIGHT © 2012 C. Michael Miller
via Duboff Law Group LLC