CACTUS CHILD

This poem was written for all the throw away kids and all the lost kids
I have known and worked

with.. but especially for Cindy ... where ever she is now... I hope its a
happier place.

Cactus child, little girl of fourteen years on earth,
Mad at me, mad as hell, ever since her birth.

Defiant slash of lipstick, her mouth is painted red.
Tangled thoughts and nameless fears fighting in her head.

Eyes filled with hate, ringed in ugly black.
Won't accept the world, won't cut it any slack.

Won't acknowledge hurt, can't escape the pain.
Never felt the sunshine, always walked in rain.

There are no words to reach her, no way to touch her mind.
Beneath the pain there's a child, who's impossible to find.

Because she has hidden her, beneath the layers and the fear.
No one is getting through, no one is getting near ...

The hidden child struggles, longing to be free.
But Cactus Child is stronger, hiding her from me.

She won't let her come out, she knows she'll bring the pain.
So she fights against her and denies her once again.

Her guts are always twisted with the pain that's deep inside,
Even though she's running, there is no place to hide.

She won't accept your love, she's learned it wouldn't last,
She knows something bad is coming, and it's coming fast.

There is no love to nurture the child who's within.
There's only Cactus Child, alone and way too thin.

She swaggers when she walk,s she really struts her stuff,
No one has ever loved her and so she grew up tough.

She doesn't need anyone, she'll do it all alone,
And yet sometimes late at night, she calls me on the phone.

I wish that I could help her, take away the fears,
And somehow slow down the passing of the years.

I wonder what her future is and if she'll live that long.
My throw away Cactus Child who's life has gone so wrong..

But the street is beckoning, it's time for her to go.
So she walks away to things  she shouldn't know.

Just a little girl, afraid and on the street.
Only one of the all the dozens that you meet.

Just another child that someone threw away ..
Just another child .. you see them everyday.

-by Denise-

IN OUR THOUGHTS:

CHERYLE BRETTON

MURDERED JULY 1997 ON THE ROGER'S PASS

SHE THOUGHT SHE HAD FOUND A SAFE PLACE

AND SOMEONE TO CARE FOR HER. SHE WAS WRONG.

HER FRIENDS MISS HER