We take the long way home

Skirt around Polo Supermarkets and

Down back roads: cold, dark, isolated

But us

We're together

We take the long way home

His mother yells and my father hits

He throws up his guarded, blank stare

To keep the words from hitting home

I throw up my arms and cover my face

To block the punches coming my way

It's exhausting

So we take the long way home

Skip across crosswalks and circle lampposts

Dancing on sidewalks

Ignoring the honks of

SUVs

Laughing loudly, despite the impending

Danger that awaits at home

Trying to forget a woman with

High-pitched screams and daily bred insults

Carrying red fever

Infectious

Trying to forget a man with

Heavy blows and splintered, wooden blocks

Leaving marks

Inside and out

We hold each other's hands

Made stronger by the assurance

That every day, coming home from school,

Together

We'll take the long way home