A girl in her bed listens to her father’s slurs
Her mother’s sobs.
Hushed arguing.
She sits up in her Hello Kitty pajamas.

Her sister lays beside her awake in the dark
Like an owl perched on a branch.

They talk as quiet as they can
Then turn the nightlight on.

Her mother’s footsteps come down the hall
Getting louder like elephant feet.

She hears her father start to yell
Then hears him stumble down the stairs and he slams the door to leave.

The last argument.
She lays back down, makes no sound
Someone had left her heart, and the hole has never been filled