By Mark A. Leon

She ran away when she was twelve
Through the cornfields, sunflowers and prairie
Never looking behind

The youngest of five
Leaving her mountain town
Spirit free and wild, off to find her way

At 14, aged beyond her years, she took to serving coffee to the lonely
A mental sexual toy to the drunks off Main Street in a town with no name

At sixteen, the road to the Bayou where she took to whoring just to feel something inside
Every memory, a reminder of the abuse so far behind
Faceless men fulfilling a desire, unbeknownst of the illegal sin played out on the stage inside the dark seedy hotel room
Ill to the core, she’d lie still while liars and cheats lusted for another

At eighteen a train whistled by; lonely car awaited its passenger
Out West she fled
Open countryside, cold wooden bed and another warming in her stomach
Many months passed by
Many towns come and gone, but soon a new life she would bore

Meditation was a salvation
July turned to December
Winds and snow froze time
Dreams of the prairie faded
Yearning for the damp serenity of the ocean

Under the evening sky, a star fell from grace
A twinkle, a stream of glitter sprinkled
A New life
Emma was born
Say a prayer for life
Sing a song to a new beginning
A time to settle; a time to make peace

Leave behind the strangers, the truckers befriended, the nights of lonely lust
A farm in the countryside would be the gold at the end of the rainbow

Some years have past
Emma playing in the cornfield warmed by the light of sun
Mama alone on the porch swing, glass of tea and a smile cheek to cheek
A life dreamed once before
A reality now found

‘Mama look” heard in the distance
A new discovery

New mistakes to be made
New decisions to challenge faith

But for now
But for now
All is well

For now, those worn feet can rest and the swelling subside
A new home is found in a world of discovery and unknown

Chasing the clouds away
A blue sky remains