The Cry I Never Heard Still Haunts Me

In the distance beyond the smiles and giggles
Beyond that which use to be
I hear a soul crying, but I never hear the shrill that still chills
ME

Throughout the day, amidst the intellectual chats, over the booming hip hop music
In the shrills of the classical violin
In the soul of the sax
It is calling
ME

Through the morning air, evening coolness, midnight moon
The slow murmuring of an unsettled damaged spirit haunts
Through the wetness on my face, my racing heart, my labored breath, I covered my ears
For a swift minute and never heard what I should have heard
So I did
NOTHING
And it still haunts ME.

I can only Hold her
As I should have done when she silently called out to
ME
But I never heard
She is still
But I still
Hear
What I never heard before
And
It
Haunts
Me.

I am the survivor of domestic violence. As a result, my daughter is a survivor of incest. We are two of many victims of a man who is incapable of love or fatherhood.