Up the Staircase: Samantha Ledger

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Tie me to the oak tree

Let me run free,
roam wild in the grasses
that cover my scuffed knees,
too many years
have been spent
crawling on all fours -
waiting for forgiveness,

As sunshine warms me -
chilled bones fuse;
I become stiff and lifeless,
undone to the wind
that rushes through my hair,
knots of dirty love
snared in golden tresses,

When they come;
men lined one
after another,
I lay silent on the ground -
ready to give myself away,
never the bride -
no bouquets of roses
for this retch,

Mother made me wash
in the cold stream
at the foot of garden,
to cleanse my pores
of the stench of sex,
yet no scrubbing could remove
the stain ingrained
upon my mind,

red ribbons billow in the breeze -
their freedom limited,
tied to branches
of the dead oak tree,
let them tie me to her
so crows may come
and peck out my eyes,
then I shall be free from seeing
mocking smiles
and curling fingers filled with lust.

©Samantha Ledger

Samantha has been writing poetry for as long as she can remember. Her poems speak truthfully in an ugly, bleak and yet somehow truthful voice; they are filled with imagery that speak of not only abuse inflicted by others, but also abuse inflicted by the self. Her voice wails with effortless beauty, one cannot help but stare.