Concrete

She opens the car door and is greeted by the sharp winter breeze,
She pulls her shawl tighter around her, a cool night of 7 degrees.
She slams the door shut behind her and takes a tentative step,
Her bottom lip quivers, her cheeks are rosy, her hair's a little windswept.

She stares at the ground in front of her, not looking to either side,
She blocks out all the memories and the tears which have yet to be cried.
She catches glimpses of names etched in the concrete tombs around her,
She sinks deeper and deeper into her past as she walks in further and further.

No need to think about where she's going, she knows it off by heart,
Disconnected from the world-she's an actress just playing a part.
She passes a Julie, a Derek, a Mitch, a Richard, a Daphne, a Chad.
"You will be missed" "You'll always be loved" A loving husband and dad".

She takes a left then takes a right, then straight ahead she goes,
A concrete angel sits ahead, it's near here she suddenly slows.
She comes to a stop and raises her head-her eyes are glinting with tears,
And suddenly she's back in '83, reliving her childhood fears.

She watches through a crack in the door as he slaps her mother's face,
Tears run down her mother's cheek where his fingers have left their trace.
Her mother begs to him on her knees but he kicks her and turns away,
And behind that door she doesn't flinch or leave-she's there to stay.

This was nothing compared to some of the other things she'd seen,
The violence, shouting, spitting, drinking and other things obscene.
And everyday she watches as her mother is put through hell,
And every night her mother makes her promise not to tell.

And as her mother tucks her in at night, she whispers in her ear,
How they will leave and never come back, get far away from here.
They'll run away the two of them, start lives that are brand new,
Away from him, away from hell, they'd run-that's what they'd do.

But her mother never takes her away, instead she takes her own life,
She walks into the bathroom and she sees the body, the blood and then the knife.
She doesn't cry-instead she cleans-a child of only 8,
And as she scrubs away her mothers blood the only thing she feels is hate.

She blinks back to the present, places a hand upon the tombstone.
"You Bi*ch!" She cries "You left me with him-you left me all alone!"
"I ran away mum-i did it! I did what you never could!"
"I ran and I tried to start over again! I did what you never would!"

The tears are running freely now, she drops down to her knees,
She holds her face in both her hands-unlocks more memories.
She stays like this until the morn, then gets up to her feet,
"Goodbye" she says then turns her back-on the past and on concrete.