I’d made it to my room to get away from
That situation, from that circumstance
When shortly thereafter I heard his footsteps
Approaching and knew he was coming to finish the dance
He grabbed me by my collar from my room and said
I know you didn’t forget that quickly that you have a chore to do
As he transplanted me in a chair in front of startled eyes
And said I’d better not get up, laughed and said, please and thank you
I sat at that table bruised and battered as the pain
From the onslaught increasingly came to light
This was different from the other times for my movement was
Limited and I could hardly think; it gave me a terrible fright
Still, throughout the house you could hear his ranting and
Raving, like, as long as I tutor his son, I’d better give it all I had
For as long as I lived in his house that’s what I was going
To do and on that I could tell God, grandma, mom and dad
I sat at the table in my state of disbelief when Distant Aunt unexpectedly
Brought me a cool towel to wipe the devastation from my face
And while I could hardly control my thoughts, I had enough left
To think, I would no longer stay in this place
He proceeded to put me on punishment, told me this week
I couldn’t go to school or practice, and he took my phone
Now I couldn’t go to school, couldn’t go to practice, couldn’t
Call and talk to anyone; this was not like anything I had ever known