PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

     Asia Hernandez looks out her bedroom window, seeing kids playing in the road. Living in the rundown part of town, there were no cars that passed through. Only cars around were junked out ones sitting on the curb, waiting to be fixed.

Leaving her window to exit her room, walking down the stairs, Asia sees that her mama is strung out on coke again. Lea Hernandez, passed out on the couch doesn’t even notice her daughter’s tears.

     Asia wants to leave this place but has nowhere to go, no one to turn to. With no father ever in the picture, there’s no one to convince her mother to quit the drugs. Deciding to run away, just to get away from it all, Asia heads back upstairs to pack.

     Grabbing an old blue jean backpack from the closet, she packs it with shirts, bras, pants, and undies. Going into the bathroom, she grabs her deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, and a hairbrush; shoving it all into the bag too.

     Back downstairs again, Asia sneaks out the backdoor hoping no one sees her. Running silently through backyards, and old alleyways, Asia emerges in a part of town way worse than where she lived. Shadows leap at her from the dark.

     Scared, not knowing where she’s going or from which way she came, Asia tries to find somewhere to hide, hoping not to be found by whoever was in the shadows. Finding a box beside a trashcan, she hides behind it. She watches the man pass by, but squeals a little when a rat runs over her shoe.

     The man turns quickly and locates the box and coming towards it takes out a knife. Terrified for her life, Asia realizes she backed into a one-way alley and has nowhere to run to. Searching frantically, wishing for a way out she spies a ladder attached to one of the buildings. Jumping up she runs towards it and climbs quickly, hoping to escape the man. The ladder comes out on top of the building, and the man is following her up the ladder, she sees nowhere to hide.

     Face to face with the man, Asia sees his rotting teeth and smells the whiskey on his breath. Thinking to dodge his knife she jumps out of the way, only to be pushed towards the edge of the roof. Trying to scurry away so she won’t fall she crawls on hands and knees, wishing she had just stayed home. With one swift kick the man knocks her off the building.



                          ------The next day-----



     The newspaper is flung against the door, but no one walks out to get it. On the front is a picture of 11 year old Asia Hernandez, lying on the sidewalk with blood splattered everywhere. Her head caved in on one side and brain-matter flowing down the cracks of the sidewalk. Lea Hernandez never got up off the couch to notice. Yelling for Asia to get the paper and get ready for school. Getting no response.