Delete
Tonight I deleted from my phonebook
All the names and numbers
Of all the supposed helpers
That were there to protect
MY DAUGHTER
After what that creep did to her.
There were guardians at litem,
A mediator or two,
The district attorney,
The family therapist,
Her therapist,
Her and my therapist,
Her counselor at school,
The officer who took the report,
The lady who asked her the necessary questions first.
The lady who asked her necessary questions second,
The officer who made the videotape of her answers,
My attorney, and other attorneys who wielded their way into the case.
The number for the victim's resource center.
Her best friend whose parents said she must back away from her.
The psychiatrist at the hospital,
The counselor at the hospital,
The night duty nurse, the day duty nurse,
The name of the judge and his division,
The case number.
All those people who we hoped would help her and us.
All those people trained to help her and us,
But never really helped her or us.
She found her strength
And the courage, and the grit
And the anger to get better without them and
In spite of them.
She took the tonic from her own magnificent soul.
And that was the only remedy.
Of course God knew how it would turn out
From the beginning
But, He too hoped one of them
Would step outside their professional suits
And jargon to see just once.
SHE WAS JUST A LITTLE GIRL
And not something to talk about
Over pens and papers
Tsk, Tsk, Tsk
