When momma brought me home
I was hungry and I cried...
There was no one there to hug me
I was scared and I would hide...

When I accidentally soiled myself
I was whipped for being bad...
There was no one there to teach me
It was a childhood I never had...

When it was time to go to school
I was teased for being poor...
The other kids would call me names
They said my mother was just a whore...

When her man friends came to visit
They would look me up and down...
My momma would often yell at me
And say she didn’t want me around...

When I would go outside alone
I often walked into the park...
I had to stay there playing by myself
Not going home till after dark...

When older boys would see me coming
They would call me over for a talk...
After they took turns hurting me
I was lucky to barely walk...

When I finally made it home
My momma told me I was no good...
She said I wouldn’t be loved by anyone
Unless I left that neighborhood...

I ran away when I was thirteen
My momma’s love I no longer yearned...
I chose the street life early on
My stolen innocence never to returned...

Even though I felt no hatred
For the momma I never really had...
I ended up living just like her
Unworthy, unloved and sad...

© 2020 Jeffrey Pipes Guice