I’ve forgotten what fun feels like,
Laughter feels foreign
Like a cough stuck in my throat
And when that cough finally chokes out it sounds,
Wrong
Like an unturned organ full of dust

I want to feel free,
Air my lungs out and let them breathe
I want to hug my bear without having to sneeze
And let my laughter out with practiced ease,

The wind in my hair,
The sun in my face,
My childhood has left me with a frown upon my face,
The bank is empty
And so is my heart
While my last years of innocence,
Fall apart.

My dolls and teddy lie in the street,
My daddy sulks and mommy weeps,
My biggest brother ran away
Starved and hungry,
Cold and frail

I miss laughter,
Happy days
Instead, left with unshed tears and cries of dismay
Imprisoned within my childhood of grit

Without a roof above my head
The cold hard ground as my bed,
My fingers frozen
Little red nose
No shoes to shield my toes
With my childhood drifting away
I am an adult now,
No time to play.