Dead End Kids by Michael Marrotti

Dead End Kids

We were the
dead end kids
with matching
black eyes

The products of
an abusive society
that would insist
on a hard fist
when you needed
a helping hand

We were
in search
of a place
that would
accept us
for who we are

It's like
we all had
the same notion
hanging out
down the
South Side river
the sound of
the waves
had a tendency
to mitigate the
turbulence

We drank our
St. Ides '40s
to blur the state
of reality
after half
a bottle
the door to
belligerency
would be blown
wide open

We were the
punching bags
of society
outsiders
who never knew
what it felt like
to receive an invitation

When strangers
intruded on
our party's
down the river
we gave back
to them
what society
had given to us

Bricks were thrown
faces were smashed
quilts could've been
made out of all
those stitches

As I reminisce now
on how we behaved
in the past
it was cruel
but it made sense
in a deplorable way

We were
building
a wall
with each
and every brick

To fortify ourselves
from the pain
of a world
that leaves everyone
battered lonely
and scarred

​

Bio: Michael Marrotti is an author from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His chapbook, F.D.A. Approved Poetry, is available on Amazon. On his free time, he volunteers at the Light Of Life Rescue Mission. He is also the editor of Excavation, a poetry blog. Submissions are open: excavatingtheunderground.wordpress.com/

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