Please Poem by Kelly Zion

The house is empty and abandoned
The roof is all caved-in
The curtains are ripped down
So the sun shines on
the bedroom window
there’s a message
and a handprint
painted in red.

It’s not a question;
It doesn’t say, “I love you”
It’s not that kind of thing at all…

No one knows who lived there
Or where they went.
No one knows if someone died there
Or who that was or is.

Maybe a long time ago
music played from out the open window
Back when the window was open
before they got locked
outside theirself as they went
beside theirself

And maybe the music was so strong and painful
everyone just closed their windows
and soon they did too.

The house is empty now
but on the window we can still tell
someone hurt in there, someone begged someone
wouldn’t let them be killed
Someone pressed their hand against the window
before it started to bleed,
before it ‘d broken their dreams
Someone begged someone would help them
Someone wrote in blood,
“Please.”