Suddenly, I discovered truth
Fragile and suffering
Beneath the overgrown weeds
And slanted boards
Of a back porch

I remembered years before

With the sunlight in my eyes
I had just found scrapped knees
A bloody lip
Tenderly I witnessed the horror
Of violent men

And the disregard
Of bested women

I heard words I could never speak
Comprehending languages
That don't exist
Not dead nor buried
But make believe

And I asked that little girl
"Remember me"
As we slid beneath slanted boards
That made up a poor porch

She smiled at me, reaching for my hand
With her small delicate one
She promised me
She would remember

And I believe she did
Though I've not seen her
Not since, and rarely before
Though at times I like to think
That she thinks of me

Remembering the little boy
With the bad temper

Suddenly, I had found truth
In those memories
Seeing the moment
When my nose started to bleed
Tasting the blood there
On split lip, and the pain
From cut up knees


The porch was still slanted
Like the sunbeams cascading
Through all those trees
The smell of wild flowers, still lingers
And I could see that little girl
In the sundress and sandals
Hiding beneath that broken porch
With the boy with the bad temper

Hiding beneath that sundered foyer
From violent men, with bad intentions
Listening to the wheeping
Of women, broken by the same behavior

Suddenly I realized, I remembered
Just a dream, it would seem
Back before we were teens
Where broken porches were shelter

Back when I had a bad temper