The Critics

I wrote the words lonely night
and they said I was clearly, “detached from parents.”

I spoke of innocence left behind in a sundress
and they stamped on, “child abuse.”

I used the words melancholy and morose
and they branded me, “manic depressive.”

I employed the word flay
and they scribbled the word, “violent.”

They turned my child searching for a teddy bear
into an autobiographical
cry for help.