I want to stay with the tree

I Want to Stay with the Tree

Do you know how much I long,
For your one word of praise?
Yet everything I did was wrong.
I hear your voice blaring in my face,
The one who loved me was gone.

Oh how I yearned for your touch,
When my body hurts so,
You turned away, didn't bother much,
My eyes traced your steps, my pain untold,
As you drift'd off with a shrug.

If you can't have me,
I want to stay with the tree.
Let me go far far away,
I will find a place.
A bright, magical one,
with butterflies dancing in the sun.

How can I talk to you, like...
Before? You'd smiled at me.
When I could sit close by your side,
As you read out stories of Winnie.
And then you kissed me goodnight.

What are they asking me now?
I don't want to think, please...
But I want it to stop somehow,
God, take me out of these miseries!
I want to shout it out loud!

Don't you know I still want you?
Just can't find words to say.
My real needs, if only you knew.
For you to accept me I will pray.
I wish you'll know how I feel.

Written by a Child Protection Officer, this poem was inspired by the experience of an abused child under her charge. It tells the story of an 11 year-old boy who was subjected to years of harsh and humiliating physical abuse. While scars and wounds heal over time, his story reminds us of the psychological damage abused children like him may face and the long journey ahead in recovering from the trauma.