anything at all

there was a time
when i didn't know 
what i was coming home to

i'd peek around the corner
listening for any 
disagreeable word

any crash of dishes

anything at all

then i'd look in my room
to see if anything was
out of place

or anything new 
was added

or if there was 
anything at all

there was a time
when i came home
and the floors were bare

and my mother's mind
was full of every dark secret
that my diary once contained

raging again and again
she tried to reset my thinking

with anything she had in hand

anything at all

until there was nothing 
in the air but unsettled dust

misplaced trust

and the beating of my heart
in my ears

(fears)