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Vol. II. Issue. III September 2011 - The Criterion: An International ...

Vol. II. Issue. III September 2011 - The Criterion: An International ...

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www.the-criterion.com <strong>The</strong> <strong>Criterion</strong>: <strong>An</strong> <strong>International</strong> Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165<br />

You look at me with fire in your smile,<br />

Yet all I want is to help you.<br />

A raised fist flickers in your eye.<br />

Blink.<br />

Knuckles raised above your bleeding lid.<br />

Half a woman with your chestnut hair<br />

Pale like a bone, with a split lip.<br />

A grimace filled with hatred.<br />

Hunched in the corner,<br />

A mane of greasy locks<br />

Frames the hungry stare.<br />

Retreating, hunted, your shrill howl fills the air<br />

As you struggle to separate me<br />

From him<br />

<strong>An</strong>d me from her.<br />

Silence speaks.<br />

Baffled.<br />

My hand outreached<br />

Haunts you as you creep away<br />

Expecting it to knock you into next week,<br />

Knock you into the nobody<br />

You recognise in the mirror each day.<br />

You look at me with ice in your smile.<br />

I try, but cannot erase the years<br />

Nor crack that barrier to help you, child.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Nobody Child<br />

Barbara Towell<br />

London, England<br />

<strong>Vol</strong>. <strong>II</strong>. <strong>Issue</strong>. <strong>II</strong>I 295 <strong>September</strong> <strong>2011</strong>

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