a moment of tenderness

I finished a difficult short poem today. It's about my step-father:

a moment of tenderness

i hate you but
my fist-heart keeps
knocking against my skull
won't let me forget:
there was a moment
of tenderness
i was fourteen and bleeding
ten thousand punches to my uterus
you held me--spindly and shivering--
in your sweaty calloused palms
carried me over thresholds
into the car
through sliding doors
and in the ER, through groans, i glimpsed
your concern
i felt no love
you weren't my papa
we did not waltz
but that trace of dutiful grace
on your face
kept me
from killing you

© 2008 by Lenelle Moïse
www.lenellemoise.com