I can still taste the blood

I can still taste the blood that oozed from my  lips
And still see the scars that cried from my hips
Because of the lashes that would land without  care
Opening up my fragility with a cruelty unfair...

To the school yard I would scamper behind older sis
Rushing off and afraid because  mom was in a hiss
Never was there a morning we didn't have to run
Because mom was always angry and hitting someone

Keeping it all  silent was always such a task
A smile was a challenge;  like wearing a  mask
That hid all of  the brokenness and hid all of the pain
My body would always quiver when the last school bell rang