Wildhood

It was like the wild wild west,
Sis and I in the back window of a 300zx,
eating McDonald’s fries with a side of elbows,
no car seats or seatbelts,
Wildhood!

Left alone for hours outside the pool hall,
eating gas station snacks playing hot wheels in the backseat,
last call wasn’t until midnight,
I can still remember mom telling us to lock the doors,
Wildhood!

Blanket beds on hotel floors,
strange men knocking on the doors,
foreign smells and loud yells,
I tried to sleep through it all,
Wildhood!

The oldest of 4,
by the third child mom was with the one,
the abuse was a prayer answered compared to the unknown,
I think her standards by this time was a pulse and a job,
Wildhood!

It was like the wild wild west,
Sis and I in the back window of a 300zx,
eating McDonald’s fries with a side of elbows,
no car seats or seatbelts,
Wildhood!