Teen Poetry Collections

PTSD

by a young woman, age 17

It’s a child screaming for help while nobody comes to the rescue

It’s the sound of punching, like knuckles hitting bone

It’s someone laying on a bed looking up, watching it happen to them
the person who was doing the punching was listening to Eminem beforehand
and the music pissed them off

They wondered how to get their anger out
but coming to no conclusions,
paced toward the child

It’s the smell of sweat off the person punching

It’s the feel of pain, just a lot of pain
enough to make them bleed, enough to leave a bruise

The child covers their face to protect
and the person punching moves from the face down to the lower extremities

The child is wishing for it to stop, hoping for help

If I could, I’d tell the child to call their family and ask them to get them out