Why Don’t You Ever Stop Him

This song was adapted from my poem Among Drifters [below]. It tells the story of a boy lamenting that his mother never stops his father from abusing him, and thus, he (the boy) decides it’s better to live on the streets. Among Drifters He stood ‘fore her a weakly frame, The weight of a harrowing pain, A pain no child should e’er endure, A rack set on his teary face. She turned away, perhaps in shame, But, ‘’Mother,’’ the boy called again, He took a step closer, unsure, His fear, her phlegm, and cold, cold grace. Mother, why do you turn away? Mother, why don’t you ever speak? Don’t you see what is happening? Ay me, why don’t you e’er stop him? He’s going to kill me one day! But you’ve been here throughout this streak, Watching me, the ghost wandering, Through these ruins with a broken limb. You shield yourself from all the truth, You love him so, that you shirk me, You, the only lifeline I know, You watch me drowni