They Call Her 'Slut'

She came home from school
As hungry as could be
Mommy wasn’t home
So she just watched TV
What’s a little girl of ten
To do all alone, anyhow?
Mommy seems to be late…..again
…….she’s used to that by now
..and Daddy? She never knew him

Supper is a bag of chips
A lukewarm can of pop
She wonders where her mother is
Should she call her shop?
Last time she tried she wasn’t there
They told her she went home
Surely she will soon be here……..
It’s quiet here alone
…as she suddenly wonders about Daddy

A twelve year old sure knows a lot
About what to get and where
She knows just what to say…….or not
When mother isn’t there
But there’s a group of kids that meet
Over on the next block
They just hang out on the street
Until ten o’clock………
….and they talk…a lot

Fourteen……mom seems busier
Now than she was then
That crazy corporate ladder
Doesn’t seem to have an end
But that’s okay, she’ll be fine
She’s learned a thing or two
She is no longer eight or nine
There’s things a girl can do
…….to be loved again

The street feels like her second home
It’s full of so-called friends….
It sure beats being home alone
Besides….they understand…
….the silent and unwritten codes
The lonesome hunger but……..
Success hurries by….turns up her nose
And mutters……. ‘little slut’
....'gosh, I need to be at work in five minutes!!!'


All Rights Reserved
Janet Martin……….