Reposts in remembering October is National Domestic Abuse Prevention Month

How to Join	Member's Area	Private Library	Search	Sanctuary		Login
Main Forums	Discussion	Tech Talk	Mature Content	Archives	A home without a wall, Our haven without ends, A circle we all call Our Family of Friends!

hoot_owl_rn
Member Patricius

since 1999-07-05

Posts 10750
Glen Hope, PA USA

0 posted 2004-10-06 05:53 PM

it wasn’t my business

she was three years old
with blonde hair that hung in ringlets
around her small face
and i couldn’t help but notice
how she rarely wore shoes
how ragged her tiny ill-fitting clothes were
how she never smiled
and how the bruises in different stages of fading
she wore like battle scars on her body
i noticed it all
but it wasn’t my business

her mother was only 20
petite quiet and pretty
she worked days at a local restaurant
making tips to pay the rent
and i couldn’t help but wonder
how sometimes even on cloudy days
she donned dark glasses
or how sometimes even in the summer
she wore long sleeves and a turtle neck
i wondered about it all
but it wasn’t my business

her dad was in his 30’s
and i was told he once served time
for armed robbery on a local grocery store
he sported a mass of tattoos as black as can be
and a temper to match
he stayed home all day
drowning his life in the bottom of a bottle
and at night through the thin plaster walls
i could hear his shouts of anger
cursing and fists hitting the wall
as he showed his disapproval at his family
i could hear it all
but it wasn’t my business

and today i stare at a newspaper
laying on my cluttered dinning room table
and the front page story in stark black and white
gives the account of how last night
a mother and her 3 year old child
were murdered at the hands of husband and father
and i can’t help but think about
how last night out of my pleasant dreams
i was awoken by screams
and i struggled to go back to sleep
slightly disturbed by what i finally realized
and i thought perhaps today i’d call social services
but it really wasn’t my business
or was it?

_______________________________________________

You Can’t Make Me

You can dress me in designer clothes;
paint my face in the latest shades;
and show me off to the world
...but you can never make me perfect.

You can find all my missing pieces;
coat me in super glue;
and put me back together again
...but you can never make me complete.

You can bind me with your possessiveness;
shackle me with fear;
and beat me to submission
...but you can never own me.

You can pretend that everything is all right;
lay me down beside you;
and take my body
...but you can never make me love you.

________________________________________________

Unsettled

There is no calm before the storm.
long before the silence is broken;
the clouds set in.
I find myself trembling in the darkness,
waiting for the first outburst.
Why must it always be this way?
I can shut my eyes to the lightning;
but the thunder still roars;
and my tears fall like rain.
Long after the storm has passed...
The effects remain.

________________________________________________

Anyone who finds themselves in an abusive relationship, find yourself someone you can trust to talk to, develop an escape plan, and most of all...get out before it's too late. There is hope and light beyond those walls you tend to build up around yourself and happiness can and does exist...just ask me

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis

since 1999-11-08

Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

1 posted 2004-10-06 07:14 PM

Oh Ruth, I read all of these with such compassion in my heart for those who are abused. Your poems gave us so much to think about and reflect so brilliantly the heart of the author.
Miss you
Liz

Midnitesun

Member Empyrean

since 2001-05-18

Posts 28647
Gaia

2 posted 2004-10-06 09:25 PM

touching the screen,
and all those broken hearts
that hide within now-silent screams

Enchantress
Member Empyrean

since 2001-08-14

Posts 35113
Canada eh.

3 posted 2004-10-06 09:40 PM

Such sad scenes to read...
but a topic that cannot and must not be hidden.
Well done Ruth!
Heart hugs~Nancy

~Autumn..the year's last, loveliest smile.~

Magnus

Member Laureate

since 2001-10-10

Posts 14135
South Carolina, USA

4 posted 2004-10-06 09:41 PM

Such a tragic scene played over and over
again each day of our lives somewhere nearby.

Hidden from view within the silence of lips
that wish to speak yet fear keeps them
shut, often for too long, and too late.

Thanx Ruth, you have penned so well the
truth of a part of our society that can only
be saved through courage and commitment
by those around them that are abused as
well as the courage of those who fear so
greatly.

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis

since 1999-11-08

Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

5 posted 2004-10-07 09:11 AM

Just had to re-read

suthern

Member Seraphic

since 1999-07-29

Posts 20723
Louisiana

6 posted 2004-10-07 10:49 AM

You write such powerful, poignant wisdom... Well done, my friend.

skyshine

Member Elite

since 2002-02-07

Posts 3058
Beneath the northern stars

7 posted 2004-10-07 03:58 PM

I didn't know October was Domestic Abuse Month--thank you for that information. These poems are shocking. We all need to do something, even if "it isn't our business." Thank you Ruth.

~sky

So you go and make it happen
Do your best, just keep on laughing
It's all on you, there's always a brand new day. -Avril Lavigne

Mysteria

Member Laureate

since 2001-03-07

Posts 18328
British Columbia, Canada

8 posted 2004-10-07 03:59 PM

You know Ruth, the strangest part of running from domestic violence is the wonderful world of running to something new and exciting, hopeful and happy. Hey, m'friend just look at us two will ya?

A great repost in aid of women and men worldwide.

	⇧ top of page ⇧
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.