Thro' eider-down trees and duvet rivers
Age 8 dances and shivers,
"sleepover" - syllables of excitement
Age 8 emerges from a forest of dreams
no stoked pretend-fire,
no pillow logs and marshmallow sticks,
No.
Sister 10 has a new game.
A word never heard before,
short and simple and blunt.
Forbidden revealing now uncovered
a difference rediscovered;
experimentation begins.
Age 8 frowns uncertainly.
such a game would be known to many
but this is a secret
between age 8 and sister 10.
Age 9 is itchy.
a tickley itch creeps over him.
he cannot sit still.
His brain is excited,
his body unready.
Age 10 tries to explain.
his words fall on deaf ears,
covered by punishing hands.
These are not lies that plague his soul,
but no one will listen to these.
Innocence is replaced by rage
a 'volcano in my tummy'.
Treated different,
not treated.
The 'volcano' erupts.
Rage pours from pores and knocks over tables,
chairs,
computers.
debris hits another boy.
'Dangerous' age 10,
sitting in a corner.
no understanding,
no relief.
Bottling.
Sister 10 is carefree
but Age 8 will always remember.