“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” - Henry David Thoreau
What memory remains in the mind of a five-year-old girl?
The year:1943, in the middle of the night.
A child screams hallucinating from Scarlet Fever.
Alone, in her twin bed, sweat mixed with tears pour
from her beleaguered body.
(Did her daddy love her? Protect her? Encourage her?
Does a child have the right to have a father-figure from which to draw
the richness and sustenance through the seasons of life?)
"Help me! Someone help me!"
she cries out. But no one comes...
Not able to grasp the solitude
she twists and turns in agonizing
contortions.
At last, looming in the doorway
a figure appears.
"Daddy?" she cries.
"Help me daddy, Help me!"
Removing a belt from his trousers
he moves towards her bed...
"Kill them, daddy. Please! Kill them," she pleads
"I'll get those bugs! I'll get them," he cajolled:
her hero, her father promising to rescue her.
Standing over her bed, raising
his belt, he begins swatting at
those deadly, stinging insects.
"Kill them. Kill them!" she begs.
Soon, her hopes in seeing her father
evaporate like mist from an icy stream
leaving her to swallow the bite and sting
of his strap.
"He doesn't believe me. He doesn't believe me,"
she thinks to herself, recoiling into a simpering mound
of whimpering sobs, trying to disappear, to escape
the torrent of pelts to her tender flesh of innocence.
The scars from that night were unseen to the
naked lens, but her footsteps through the murky
waters of life reflect the depth of injury caused...
in the winter of her youth.
What effects do the actions of parents have on children? Can these
effects ever be over-come? Can trust ever be restored? Lastly,
what horrors dwell forever in the shadows?
Author notes
8) http://prettyfreakjesper.deviantart.com/art/Footprints-46474425
Comments
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wow! this is powerful indeed, i feel for this little girl my heart aches to think of such things, but i do believe it possible to overcome such trauma with love and patience and a tender hand. your pen strikes with such powerful emotion. great read!
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Congratulations.
I'm awe struck. By chance I happened upon this work & am enternally greatful I did.
The way from start to finish it creates the image of hope for a childs father (her hero) to save her only to have the image plucked out by the sudden realisation of a father misunderstanding of a situation.
This reminds me that every action taken with children no matter hope large or small could/can reverberate thought out their life & effect all aspect of the future self.
Thanks you for this stunning read.
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Profound...
This is painful. A story whose contents can burn one's heart and strike the dynamo of revolution. I lived in a rural area where at least half of the parents tortured their kids. I have an idea on what those children grew up with.
"Lonely & Frostbitten" brings those memories alive, and stimulate our our inner mind to stand for social responsibility, and report child abuse, and all types of violence against the human being.
In respect and admiration,
Andre Emmanuel Bendavi ben-YEHU
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This is tragic, and horrific. It is easy to have compassion for the little girl crying in her suffering and fear. The horror is, she will live with conclusions of a sick and underdeveloped mind; and will carry those misconceptions and lies her entire life.
The father made an incredibly bad decision and action. To inflict pain to quiet the noise... Without any compassion, or humanity. What he did didn't happen without cause; it came from his past, his experience, the pain and confusion in his own heart. We can sit here now and think, why didn't he hold her? ask her questions? comfort her? We will never know... Maybe he was impaired... maybe he had other people in the house who had to rest;
He was broken, and needy, too. and unresolved, those things led to grievous wounds to the heart and mind of the child.
It is never too late, to revisit these old dark woulds, and re frame them; bathe them with forgiveness, and the hope, the decision to assume the best about all involved.
I really hope this is a fictitious story...
http://allpoetry.com/poem/5478351 -
What an interesting beautiful piece this is. I am only a little ameteur poet, really. but I do enjoy reading other people's writing from all over the place, and I especially love the poems, that tell some kind of story, with words that the average reader can understand, I think this is important in poetry. I find that if I have to read something that is beyond my understanding or I have to look up words to see what they mean, then for me, it loses power, and most people and a lot of people are not scholars. so for example shakespear,although is famous, I hated reading his stuff and many more like him.
I love the simplicity of words. more than anything else, my life is complicated enough so I read things that I am able to at least with the minum education understand. I love your poem and have listed this one as my first favorite... -
The horrors of childhood do haunt us whether we have grown up and seen them through adult eyes or not. It is a pain or fear that never seems to quite leave..affecting us forever. Yet, the silver lining is the compassion one gains from such a torrid background. The inner emotions that stoop down and help another who too has been abandoned.
Your poem is touching to the core and yet so sad.
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Your poetry is nothing less than profound.
When I read your poetry, it reminds me that you are a woman of many talents. Your flare for character development and emotion in this piece is brilliant. The emotive imagery that I find within this leaves me feeling a bit awestruck. I love that you leave the readers with questions to ponder, and ponder they will. As a parent, I will be pondering these questions myself. It's always a pleasure to read something you have written. You are a born poet in every sense of the word.
Don
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The scars we carry in life usually come from within. You lay it out here for all to see and feel in a most profound way. You can't read this without being deeply touched. Masterfully penned.
Thanks for sharing.
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A VERY POWERFUL PIECE OF WRITING
LOVE THE FLOW AND FEEL OF THIS.VERY DEEP IDEAS EXPRESSED HERE.EVERYTHING IS VERY VISUAL ITS LIKE THE DRAMATIC SCENE OF A MOVIE, BUT THIS IS NO MOVIE AND THERE ARE REAL CONSEQUENCES.THE CHILD IS FATHER OF THE MAN AS WORDSWORTH SAID.IT IS SO HARD TO OVERCOME THE TRAUMAS OF OUR EARLY YEARS.GREAT WRITING WELL DONE.
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Thank you Jokerman for reading LONELY & FROSTBITTEN. It is a powerful topic for many who lost their voice and visibility in the bed of innocence.
Appreciate the happy, clappy faces.
Best wishes
and stay
liquid
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Interesting write. Poses many questions, unanswered in many minds. I like this poems story like qualities that pull the reader in. Good job.
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This is a very interesting take on the prompt, and I like the anger at the father that just may not have protected, as she felt he should have. good work
♥
whisper
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THanks WHISPER for stopping in to comment on LONELY & FROSTBITTEN
Appreciate it.
liquid
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