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Pretty picket fences protect manicured grass,
A rising sun paints a perfect picture of shimmering glass,
Dew falls from a weeping willow finding rest at last
On the face of a puppy who shivers like a laugh ;

Light creeps into the bedroom
Of the man and his better half,
Who rise without speaking
Like all the days that have past,
He stares into the mirror
Winking at the demons on his back
And mommy is already drinking
To drown the cold hard facts ;

Babygirl is sleeping at the end of the hall,
She wakes from her dreaming and the smile dissolves,
She creeps into the bathroom and turns the hot water on,
And slips the tainted sheets into the dirty clothes
Where she feels she belongs,
The rage cannot compete with the shame
Standing under the waterfall,
But she will never wash away the memories
As she scrubs herself raw ;

Babyboy creeps across his room
And peers through the crack in the door,
Then pulls a box from under the bed
To break out his survival tools,
He moves slower than he should
And limps when no one is looking,
Then raises a makeup case to his pretty face
Because mommy showed him how to hide those bruises ;

You must stay quiet and learn to deny it
And never bring friends home from school,
Never make excuses because daddy wont buy it
And you know what he will do to you ;
All the neighbors think
They must have found a wishing well,
So warm and inviting
And always first in line to ring the church bells,
Mommy is so sleek and stylish
And can organize one hell of a bake sell,
While daddy has got the luck of the Irish
And punched drunk charm that never fails ;

Where flies the angels when shadows come to call,
Where hides some savior when the tears begin to fall,
Those shiny happy faces unaware of it all,
Behind the doors of presumed safety ,
You can hear the pain echo through the walls ;

She sings about midnight visitations,
Daddy please do not hurt me,
He cries in darkened isolation,
Mommy please do not desert me,
A lifetime of nightmares
Creeping up and down those stairs,
With punching fists and bitter breath
And sweaty guilty stares,
Over candlelight and imported wine
The family dines on silent lies,
And all the while little fragile eyes
Plead to invisible white knights,

Home is where the hurt is
Won't you please

Come and rescue me :