I longed to see her smile, it made her and I whole once more

Her attentive hands caressed the bed sheet violently as if she had been burned by a stove top

I could hear the scraping hit the wall; I had stumbled out too far holding the baby swing

Laughter filled the room only for second, concern followed

I fluttered away the red daisy swiping my cheek, I moved the swing out in the hall way

Pissed stained sheets and small speckled blood billowed the bed

From time to time I caught her staring at a baby sock, holding a moment of self pity

Gently placing clothes into bags, she spoke with a worn conviction

Her skin was riddled with tiny bruises, her eyes carried the day missing the night

Through it she cursed god, and then thanked him again, this went on for hours

I heard the baby crying in another corner of the household,

There, she went pardoning past the piled plastic bags

I was in the room alone now

I tossed the mattress pad into a white bag, scribbling a giant red “X” on the outside

I heard my name being called down the hall way

As I walked through the doorway I caught a red devil crawling out of the corner

I smashed the mite with a baby shoe in hand; I hid the evidence with a tissue

I held back a sigh of remorse,

For some so small, they took so much

I wish I could give her a home, food, a job

It was a silly thought as we had just met, yet I loved her

It was a different kind of love; I wish I could go back and stop them

I walked down to her and the baby as it was the only thing that could make her smile

I longed to see her smile, it made her and I whole once more