[The Song that You used to Play]
It has happened to
A friend of a friend
Of a sister or a brother
To mothers. To fathers.
To you.
It's the slaps; the hits
That scream: I love you
It's the kisses or hands that choke:
Don't leave me
It's the words that bite
The bruises that fade
It's the broken promises
Scratching over each other
Like records too ruined
To remember their worth.
This poem is about:
My community
My country
Our world