At Such An Age
There was this girl I once knew
She was tender hearted
Pure as can be
even with the evil she was surrounded by
There was this girl I once knew
At the age of four
Her innocence cracked
Learning you can’t trust anyone
Is a little too big to learn
At the age of four
At the age of nine
She crumbled more
Her father, her savior
Failed her
He may have always been a bit gruff
But this day, was the start of the worst
at the age of nine
At the age of twelve
She found out what it was like
To break the rules
Trouble was new and interesting to her
Curiousity brimmed and peaked
At the age of twelve
At the age of fourteen
She was set free
Roaming and wandering
To explore the world she had been locked away from
Her father only dangled this treat in front of her
For everything to fall into a new dark black pit
At the age of fourteen
At the age of sixteen
She finally broke
Skin and bones
Drugs
Scars and blood
The bruises he left covering her entire body
As the night her father tried to kill her
At the age of sixteen
At the age of seventeen
New home
New family
New life
Same old story
She is stronger and braver now
Yet ever so much more fragile
What will become of her in this new found world
At the age of seventeen.
-Jaicee Tift
(2014)