You were right
to run
from
the mama and the papa
who learned far too slowly
how to right things born wrong
Old nuns
hunched in classrooms
spouting hydra teeth
Thick handed
bosses who offered
honor for slavery
She who was right
for a minute
and stayed for twenty years
The angels who
beat your moods
up and down
That was all long
ago
So many coats and bruises ago
You could stop but
you forget how to stop
They are all still behind you
How are you to blame
for there being no home
that could protect you
And you agree for a moment but then
you say
You could have built such a place
and should have
You knew how
Read enough and knew how
The sick is not excuse enough
The fear not prod enough, apparently
No pride enough to drive you to the effort
So now you are going to pay for this
Glad to pay off the shame of this
Only way to gladness after all of this
Dark Matter 
November 5th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Great work.
November 5th, 2010 at 10:24 am
thanks for commenting, Louise…I busted my ass on this one, and I’m glad it worked for someone.
November 5th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
It’s a poem that gets readers (or me anyway) measuring themselves against it (as a person, not as a poet). Thanks.
November 5th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Thank you so much. It means a lot…more than you could know.