I’m an angry cur
I sit and lick my wounds
No longer on a chain
I stay put and don’t run off
Tremble at the feet of my abuser
Long since a ghost: no more a man
Yet his switch is alive in my body-mind
Can I rescue my self
Get myself to a shelter
Learn how to trust and to love
Retrain the cower out of my body and soul
Lose the haunted look in my eyes
Beyond the Skinny Branches 