Dear Landlord

She ran to her room and slammed the door, tears streaming down her face. She wondered how this had happened so many times yet she seemed to be shocked every time she was exposed to such pure violence. She did not think that accidentally missing her school bus on a Tuesday morning was a good enough reason to receive physical punishment. She grabbed her journal and started jotting down her feelings on its tear-soaked pages, in the form of free verse poetry. Her shaky fingers wrapped around the pen gently as she let out her constant flow of emotional torment.

Dear Landlord,

I have known

you

Since my first

daylight

The first thing

I can remember

Your eyes

Meeting mine

Gently tugging my tiny

Fingers

Dear landlord,

I believe you cared

I believe you knew

Me

But ever since

That first

Strike

I learned of

Hatred

Dear landlord,

I look into your

Loving pupils

But see

Not a face

Of mine

I tend to feel

Like a mere

Stranger

In your presence

Dear Landlord,

I remember a time

When you called

Yourself

My guardian angel

My protector

The dawn

Of my existence

And its preserver

I fear that

That time

Has gone

The heart that beat

To grant me

Life

Beats for me

No more

Dear Landlord,

Should I

Call you that?

You seem to

View that

As your role

In my void

Of a life

When can I

Come to you

As your

Child

You

My Parent

Ever again!

Dear Landlord,

Until then

I shall abide

By the

Rules

Under your roof

And wrap my

Tear-stained

wounds

With bandages

And blankets

And dream

That you

Recognize me

In this lifetime

Or another