I took a hard stone .. full into my chest

another glanced off of my shoulder

then damage came .. two in the head

everyone else had been throwing rice

everyone except my baby brother tommy

half dazed .. almost forcefully knocked out

i'll never forget glimpsing tears in his eyes

right away I knew what the problem was

i'd been already raising tommy for years

our parents had deserted us long ago

I was barely able to walk .. stumbling

reached tommy .. standing near the front wall

hugged .. reassured him I wasn't going to leave him

he and my only sister kathie .. were eight and six years old

he tightly hugged me back .. smiled big through his tears

told me he didn't know what to do .. was really sorry

said he was scared i was leaving him and kathie

since now i'm forced into marriage

I walked crooked as hell

just to make it to my car

still not in my right senses

all I could do was open my door

fall in on the seat .. wait on terrie

it was haunting .. her mom cursing me

because I didn't open terrie's car door

no one knew i'd been hurt badly

by the large stones tommy had thrown

I couldn't even begin .. begin to think

of opening the passenger door for terrie

hell man .. I was knocked half unconscious

damn stones half as large as my hand

weren't seen by anyone amidst thrown rice

terrie got in and closed .. slammed her door

saw me smooth passing out as I drove away

her eyes grew large .. viewing knots on my head

in a couple of blocks i'd to pull over

trying hard to regain my scrambled senses

took a few minutes for my composure to return

finally made it to the waiting honeymoon suite

strange .. forced honeymoon never happened

Copyright @ November 2014

StandingBear