I was holding my breath for decades
   Waiting for the other shoe drop
   Waiting for the pain to stop

Still anticipating
   The sting of the father's belt
   The bully's taunt
   The brother's mockery
   The girl's derisive laugh
   The whip of self-hate

I finally let go of that stagnant air, and out came
  The belt
  The taunt
  The mockery
  The laugh
  The hate

I want to catch that poisoned exhalation in a bottle
So another kid with bare nerve endings
Won't breathe them in again

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