Hearing footsteps on the staircase
a young boy is silent in his room,
only moonlight from the window
brightens the darkness and gloom.
His heart beats, his fear increases
as an angry father opens the door,
staggering drunkenly towards him
to inflict violent cruelty once more.

He packs a bag with some clothes
leaving home in the quiet of night,
stepping out into the cold darkness
hoping he won’t be missed till light.
It’s not so much the pain and bruises
more that he just can’t understand,
how one man can change so much
with a glass of alcohol in his hand.

After months of living on the streets
a stranger came and sat by his side,
knowing his name and who he was
he told him he no longer should hide.
Telling him how a neighbour knew
all that happened and told the police,
his father was taken, never to return
so home now was a place of peace.

The rising sun glows in his room
and he glances over to the door,
everything there still reminds him
of the things that happened before.
Carrying a bag with some clothes
he leaves in the morning light,
his mother reads the note he left
on waking from her restless night.

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