Intruder

Innocent little girl walking.

She is preoccupied, at the moment with

An enigma which plagues all young girls

At a point. Which Barbie Doll do I want?

Another thought enters her head:

What’s for dinner?

Then:

What’s on TV tonight?

She goes on her merry way.

Along comes the intruder.

“Kill your father” it says.

The girl faces the intruder

Head-on.

“No” she says.

The intruder goes away.

But he doesn’t.

It plagues the little girl’s mind.

She can’t get away from it, no matter

What.

She can’t look at her father

Without being filled with fear.

The intruder visits her every day.

Sometimes, it says “Kill your

Brother” or some other.

Sometimes, it tells her to burn the

American flag, or a crucifix.

Sometimes, it wants her to hump that

Dog’s leg instead of him doing it to some human.

Finally’ the intruder becomes too much.

The intruder has visited every one.

It’s only the people who listen to it; the

Innocent little girls Of the world

Who pay any mind to it.

The thing is, those little girls don’t

Do what the intruder says, they

Take their own lives instead.

2011 by Alex Gross