Friday, March 1, 2013

His Name Was Carl



His name was Carl.

A bear of a man
Who possessed a
Jolly laugh that
Vibrated throughout
A room.

His name was Carl.

Whenever he saw me,
He would smile,
The kind of smile
That lit up the room
And the dark corners
Of my life.

His name was Carl.

He would laugh
At my jokes,
No one laughed
When I told jokes,
Not even my parents
But he did.

His name was Carl.

We would play together,
Tossing a ball around,
Building and destroying
Things. I told him
My secrets as I had
No one else to tell.

His name was Carl.

He was thirty and
I was ten and yet
I never thought that
Anything was wrong.
He was my friend,
My only friend.

His name was Carl.

One day, our friendship
Took an unexpected turn.
He made requests that
Made me uncomfortable
But he's my friend so
I did what he requested.

His name was Carl.

He would watch me
Play with toys he bought me.
He insisted I played naked.
It was only a matter
Of time before
He touched my bare skin.

His name was Carl.

Eventually, he did more
Than touch, his big hands
Groping and pawing at
My pre-pubescent body.
I prayed for someone to notice,
For someone to say
That this was wrong.

His name was Carl.

He would appear
At my school,
At my house,
Waiting to whisk me
Away to his hidden places
And I wondered if anyone
Noticed.

His name was Carl.

No one noticed,
No one followed,
No one said that
This was wrong,
No one came to save me,
So I decided
To save myself.

His name was Carl.

Was not is,
Never will it be is
And all you need
To know is
His name was Carl.

3 comments:

Buddah Moskowitz said...

Wow. I loved the way this built up details and tension until the change of perspective at the end. Masterful!

I bow low to your superior talent, Mosk

Unknown said...

I said it on FB and I'll say it here. YOU are a MASTER storyteller.... LOVE IT!

Brian Miller said...

ugh...stomach turning in its reality...the repetition of his name was carl as well becomes haunting the further you read....

 
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