A fragile child lost to the allure of his imagination
fearing reality, DESperate to escape the tangles of his life
Imagining the cold chill of the mountain air
craving the bittersweet sway of the rocks under his little feet
leaping from cliff tops like a superhero in a single bound
pretending the marks on his skin from the angry drunken swing of his fathers misery devoted belt would             in the deep abyss of a murky lagoon
       drown
Reveling in his imagination where the ocean could be his playground and the only things he had to cover up everyday were his shoulders from the frigid spray of the ocean waters
he could live in his mind, FORGET
every ache and pain, 
wash away the sight of the beer stains on the grisly wool rug

   the souND of his mother's cries
he could forget.
until he heard the clash of a fist banging on his bedroom door, and the familiar roar of the dragon howling through the thick white oak
even then he would use his imagination
he would envision himself being pursued by ferocious lions
that he was following the gazelle’s frantic hoofs into oblivion
no danger could come to him as he ran with them
with only the tangy feel of the high feather reedgrass underfoot