Who do you see over there?
A girl? That's right, a girl.
But why is she standing in total darkness?
Total darkness, all around her, drowning her.
But what did she do to deserve this?
Why does she stand there shaking?
Oh, wait, there is a man approaching.
What is that in his hands?
It looks like barbed wire.
What is he going to do with it?
The man closes the curtains for thirty minutes.
He opens the curtains again.
But there is no girl to be seen in the bedroom.
Oh, wait, she is right there.
What is that strange dark liquid rolling rolling gently down her arms?
Why does she start crying when the man slams the door?
The girl sees me looking at her.
She signs to me, "Help."
I cannot reply, for the man has come back.
He slams the window and pulls the blinds down.
But what was that rolling down her arms?
She opens the blinds a little.
The man is gone.
I see the dark marks on her face now.
I see her holding her arm.
One of her fingers looks odd.
Misshapen.
What did he do to her?
And why is she wearing the same clothes she wore yesterday?
I think I will ask her tomorrow.
She waves to me and smiles.
I notice one of her front teeth is gone.
But it was there at school today.
I will definitely ask her tomorrow.
She closes the blinds.
And from the light shining through, I see the man whipping her.
And as I walk through the doors at school the next day.
And wonder why Annemarie wasn't on the bus,
I hear my principal tell my teacher,
"Annemarie's father was arrested last night.
He was charged with murder.
Murder of his daughter."
And all I can think is, she is in a better place,
She is no longer standing in the darkness of the world.
The darkness of the world.
And I feel a tear slip down my cheek.

check these out!

• A GL girl's original poem: "Happiness is always in style"
• "We are tired of being tired"
• This GL girl's folklore-inspired poem is *so* dreamy
• How I wrote and published three books before age sixteen

you might like these

• "Why I hardly ever wear makeup"
• Why we shouldn't dismiss the South as "backwards"
• How I rediscovered my faith during COVID-19
• I’ve been single for 21 years but I still love Valentine's Day