police offer help but she flatly refuses
his drunken behavior she quickly excuses
“mind your own business,” is the phrase that she uses
“This time you were lucky,” the doctors explain
as they stitch up the cuts and remove the blood stain
then write a prescription to help with the pain
the advice that they give her is only in vain
This time she was fortunate, she got away
“hope she learned her lesson,” her mother did pray
but she’s back talking to him the very next day
“just a young, stupid girl,” is all her friends say
This time it was good that her child wasn’t there
to see her cut lips or the blood in her hair
but sometimes the damage is beyond repair
and destined to lead to a life of despair
This time she blames it all on the booze
and turns a blind eye to the obvious clues
that some people just are inclined to abuse
maybe next time we’ll select what casket to choose
Breaks my heart when situations like this occur and the girl keeps coming back for more abuse. sigh. Powerful poem and pretty smooth with the rhyming throughout.
ReplyDeleteok, first the rhyme scheme rocked, this could easily be a rap, esp in light of the context...which boils my blood honestly...working with the abused there are days i would love to be a vigilante hero...
ReplyDeleteWell done! I'm not usually big on rhyme, but I thought yours perfect here, given the context. And it's a story that many have lived to tell; sadly, not all survive...
ReplyDeleteSadly there is too much abuse like this going on in the world, and too many young women with no self-esteem that put up with this. Well written poem on a difficult subject matter.
ReplyDeleteWell written on a worthy subject. Sadly this is a ubiquitous story. Sad, true, and unfixable apparently. Thanks, Gay
ReplyDeleteThe a story that sounds all too horribly familiar. Thank you for the great take on it!
ReplyDeleteSo sad - and you've told it with skill and compassion.
ReplyDelete(http://vnesdolypoems.wordpress.com)
Excellent, Charlie. My OSW a couple of weeks ago was on domestic abuse. My protagonist survived. I hope yours does to.
ReplyDeleteI had an abusive first marriage, and can relate to every single line of this. I married very young and in the early 80's, sadly, this form of abuse was classed as 'a domestic' by police. Thank God the law has changed hugely now.
ReplyDelete