discarded

Dusty drawl in southern slander

Quiet strained to understand her

Tired eyes let free her story

Stripped bare of their childhood glory

Heavy eyes, dull grey reflections

Amplified stained imperfections

Hidden between beaten hands

Scrubbed, bleached, scarred and tender hands

Tearful in her struggle, she

Clasps the wisps of cherished strands

and bows          shamelessly

Finally.

To life itself

Breathed into lungs

Revived her health

A tiny fleck of spirited stealth

Behind the scars, beyond the fears

A dusty drawl in southern slander

Dazed I strained to understand her

spoke seven words...

“...it’s like I seen my momma again”

My heart shattered like the life within her

I embraced that child and never left her
~Chelsea