The white walls
Or at least they start that way
Your two and learn that mommy has to go
The white walls with a juice stain
Your four and realize that your friend took your cookie
The white walls with a paint splatter
Your five and you have to go to school,
But making friends is not your specialty
The white walls drawn on with crayon
Your eight and you learn multiplication
The white walls with a rusty nail
Your ten and you scraped your knee
The white walls with tape over the hole
Your 11 and you have to start middle school
The white walls with paint chips
Your 13 and you call,
But no one answers
The white walls with the dent
Your 15 and you try to make sense,
of what is happening
To your body and to your mind
The white walls with the blood spatter
You’re 17 and wonder when Daddy will come back again
The white walls with memories
The memories of the murder of your mind
Your 18
And you realize the walls aren’t white anymore
They are black.