BLACK WATER

She floats in a brackish pond,
full of weeds of her past
that pull her down into breathless depression.

Daddy is an angry, jealous drunk.
Mummy is projecting terror;
she doesn’t know what he did with his guns.

She surfaces again, gasping;
pulling at biting strands,
only to be yanked down by other frightful memories.

Merciless school yard brutes;
teachers scared to help;
she struggles against their pull, flailing for the surface.

Soon enough, the weeds let go.
She thrashes to the light,
eyes wide, mouth closed tight and lungs burning.

She draws a deep breath,
wanting it to be enough to stay alive
as she knows she will be pulled under again.