Nothing to be afraid off

 It was terrifying at first
To be forcibly dragged out
Bloodied and screaming
Pleading like crazy
Slapped a few times
For good measure
Then thrown inside
At first I’d try and stop
The door from being closed
But a few punches and a kick
Taught me that the door
Was getting shut regardless
My lack of power made me
Realise that I could do nothing
But to submit to the punishment
Being gleefully dished out
The door got locked
There I was. In the dark
At first I’d cry and whimper
It was so dark in there
You couldn’t see anything
Not even your own hand
But there wasn’t much to see
I could smell the coal
It smelled like damp roads
Drying on a summers day
After a rain shower
It had its own set of noises
Rats scuttling about
Damp wood creaking
The noise of the fire
On the other side of the wall
Over time I made friends
Friends with the rats
Friends with the coal
Friends with the smells
And with the noises
I even made friends
With the blackness
I’d sit and rock
To and fro
Singing the alphabet
And other rhymes
Occasionally I’d sleep
And dream good dreams
The terror had left me;
He had lost;
It was only a coal shed
It was only dark
I was only eight
But I still beat him
Whilst he beat me
He won the battles
But was losing the war
The coal shed
My bedroom
I made all such places
Refuges to lick my wounds
And prepare for the
Next round