I was introduced to the termites at an early age.
They ate away at my father's rotting brain.
That was the first time I was locked up in a cage.
While my Dad drowned in alcohol and the termites learned to reign.

Reign, Reign, Go Away.
Come Again Some Other Day.

The termites ate my mother's frozen heart.
I'd stay awake and listen to the screams:
"It's time for a divorce. You're tearing us apart!"
My mind became hazy. My life was a dream.

As The Bough Breaks, The Cradle Did Fall,
And Down Came Their Baby, Cradle And All.

Those termites made my mother say I shouldn't tell
Anyone of our broken home, or of the ants.
I went to school in my secret Hell.
Then, I'd come home, listening to raves and rants.

I Did Eat My Curds And Whey
As The Ants Chased Me Away.

At school the ants were in my peers' minds.
They'd tell me I was ugly, I was obese.
No one understood my pain: solitary, one-of-a-kind
No rest for the Wicked. I deserved no peace.

The Little Girl Wants To Play.
Reign, Reign Go Away.

For awhile the ants did disappear.
I learned to ignore the harmful termites.
My father stopped drinking for seven years.
Very rarely did my parents fight.

Oh, But If Those Termites Run Away,
Momma's Gonna Find Me Some More One Day.

Eventually those ants did return.
They made my father anxious, depressed.
My mother's remarks inside me would burn.
I'd have sleepless nights for the Wicked don't rest.

* * * * *

The cyle is happening all over again,
But this time the termites are eating my brain.
I want to give up, and end it all.
I'm tired of being strong. It's my turn to
F
A
L
L.

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