Simone Banh
McMaster University
Class of 2016

On inspection
I first notice your blonde locks
Bouncing as you take your seat
Face nestled in your foster mother’s embrace
Blue eyes wide, stained from tears
Pale skin contrasting against your dark past
Gone from a home you knew so well
Loving parent turned into stranger
And there I saw my childhood friend

On percussion I hear
Empty walls still echoing with shouts and screams
Trying to survive each dismal day
Careless acts, naivety, unintentional neglect
Poor attachment and security
Siblings separated, joined and split again
But still you miss the walls you called home
And there I saw my childhood friend

On palpation I feel
Your grasp, trying to take the wheel
Each time a crash into flames
Explosive whispers crescendo into war of words
Years will pass and wounds will heal
Only snapshots in your box of memories
A new life is writing itself
The pen held by the powers that be
And there I saw my childhood friend

On auscultation I hear
The lessons you will learn and utmost care you will receive
But deep inside you still feel like an outsider
Fears that your time is limited
Conditional roof, pitied sympathy
And in my childhood friend I see your future

With my assessment I predict your plan
To turn away, start a new life
Leaving behind the pieces of your past
I hope you too will find what you need
Reflect on what you want
And find your happiness like my childhood friend