Tortured Territory

The past a tortured territory
The eyes begging blindness
The ears praying to be deaf

This could not be the place
That formed me
A bitter land of pain

I thought to have escaped it
My memory cauterized
To keep yesterday from
Escaping to torment

To remember now --why
My smile removed
By the march of evil
A hideous slide show

Time does not alleviate pain
It only manages
To stuff the horrid into a closet
To wait until something triggers
The memory to unlock its door