A broken body slashed and sore,
Even mother could not ignore;
The hollers of displeasure boomed,
But still tomorrow’s school day loomed
And when the morning came to be,
She stripped away my dignity;
A call to matron to explain,
This dreadful child of hers again
Refused to do what each child should,
Regardless of whether she could:
To bathe, to dress, to pack her bag
And to attend the daily drag.
Once in car Matron could see
Someone surely, was guilty
Of that black eye and that red
And what followed was quite surreal:
The police called, the doctor too
And I undressed, as told to do;
Diagrams sketched of every mark,
Documented if light or dark.
Then I was put on trial to see
If be seized indefinitely,
A damaged child and uncontrolled,
Was what the judge was to unfold;
It was clear, I was to blame
And it was I that should feel shame;
Taken from my middle classes,
To drink from half empty glasses,
‘You are visibly infected,
By 18 should be corrected’.
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