Human Shield
She’s looking at him and he’s looking at her
And neither of them will speak to each other
Over dinner there is only silence and the
Quiet clinking of glasses and mushy chewing
The hope of conversation is trashed just like the
Two week old ground beef you found in the fridge
But if they would speak what would they say
Nothing new. The same insults, the same loud
Exclamations and expressions heard daily
That make your ears bleed with hatred
Hating your parents isn’t anything new
But it seems like their arguments have gone on
For centuries, and you’ve only been alive for
--teen years. --teen years full of the same words
Hate stupid gone left mad angry I Told You So
And you wish and hope with all your blood
That one day it would stop. You used to lie in
Your bed daydreaming about bursting in with
Your innocence and announcing that you would
Call the police! But what good would that do
Okay okay what about holing up in your
Purple carpeted closet for a while? That
Would make them worried about you.
You tried that though, and boy, that did
Nothing their words still bounced off each other
Nowadays you reminisce about those days when
It wasn’t so bad. Or maybe your hearing just got
Better over the years from straining to hear
Every last poison words spat from snake mouths
From up the stairs, behind the door, around a corner
You have learned to deflect it - it bounces off you
In the kitchen when they are fuming behind your back
If you stand in between them it is it though you are
A mirror! they are exactly alike. You can’t wait to be not
Like them. And yet you wait with dread draining your heart
Because anger is probably genetic and any hope of you
Loving someone wholly and purely was tossed into the
Trash along with the 2 week old ground beef.