scorpius odyssey

I was called an alley child
Eating out of trash cans and soup kitchens
I ran drugs back and forth
To homes that fed me from their trash cans.

I was called the demon child
Fighting my folks back as they locked me out
I broke into a neighbors house
For some warmth coming from the stove.

I was called the prostitute child
Offering sex when the trash cans had no food
I pleasured men and women for money
When the drugs ran out.

I was called the foster child
Running away from one home to the next
I fell through the cracks as big as the scar
From my head to my chest; beaten and stitched.

Sometimes I lay awake staring at the sky
Finally figuring out that the child in me
Never had a childhood at all, as I get out of bed
And kiss my kids still asleep in their beds.