I stand naked (as a child)

I stand naked as a child once more
My vulnerabilities exposed before
The crumbling walls
that hold and still host
the manic dance
Of all my demons.

That house stands in darkness now...
But never offers silence
Each window is shuttered
An eyeless socket I have to breach
To reach the dripping faucet
That drowns all my sanity
A tap drip...drip...drips
From cold corroded copper lips
In the dark kitchen where demons
Feast on the unforgettable.

The savage harvest
Of the cancerous breast
I once milked of comfort...
Swaddled in safe lullabies
Too soon reveal the barren wilderness
By the contours left by the reapers knife
Stolen blossoms in a sunken garden
And a withered glade beneath summer flower patterns on yesterdays dress.

Every wall in every room echoes the painful cries
Of the unforgotten.
I am the naked child shivering
Behind every door.