Bricks of pain

Bricks of pain and mortar'd fear
built high around the child,
a prison strong
and ages deep
to cut the angry cries.

And as the wall grew higher still,
to keep the world away,
they trapped the child,
slow-choked her voice
and buried her alive.

This prison pain so strongly built,
stood fast through all the years,
and still within
the child stood
and called the dark her friend.

And when the woman followed close,
the echoes in her mind,
she found the prison,
felt its walls
and knew what lay inside.

She touched each brick,
knew whence they came,
touched lips to bitter stone,
drank deep the tears of tired days;
remembered what had gone.

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