I'm Afraid

I sit in a corner,
I'm afraid of my door creeping open
I'm afraid of the pain I know it will bring
As you take another deadly swing.

How many more have you killed?
In your drunken days of despair
Why is Mum never here?
Is she buried? Did she shed a tear?

I want to run away.
But that isn't a possibility
I've tried it before and you just catch me
And beat again with that look of glee.

Am I the only one who has to suffer this pain?
Knowing that my bruises don't look like accidents
Why do I have you as a Dad?
Do you think I'm glad?

Sometimes I feel as though the word will never know my story
Which is why I write it down in
A poem so when you kill me,
People will know how horrible you can be.

And now I see my door move
I wonder what new pain it will bring
The hits rain down, I've lost all loving
And now I feel nothing.

*Poem for all people affected by child abuse.*