At 7 Years Old

 

 

At 7 Years Old

I was beaten till I shed blood

At 7 Years Old

I was beaten till I shed no tears

At 7 Years Old

I was told to pray to God

At 7 Years Old

I was beaten while praying to God

At 7 Years Old

I learned not to cry

At 7 Years Old

I learned to not give a s**t why

At 7 Years Old

I was beaten cold

At 7 Years Old

I learned to keep it all in

At 7 Years Old

I learned to cry from within

At 7 Years Old

I hated myself

At 7 Years Old

I wanted to kill myself

At 7 Years Old

I became numb

At 7 Years Old

I thought I was dumb

At 7 Years Old

I thought everything I did was wrong

 

Just trying to read I got beat

Just trying to pray I got beat

 

At 17 Years Old

I was wild

At 17 Years Old

I did not give a f**k

At 17 Years Old

All I did was f**k

At 17 Years Old

I didn't know right from wrong

At 17 Years Old

I didnt care right from wrong

At 17 Years Old

I became numb to pain

At 17 Years Old

I started to inflict pain

At 17 Years Old

I started it all again

At 17 Years Old

I needed to restrain

At 17 Years Old

I didn't know who to blame

At 17 Years Old

I was ashamed

At 17 Years Old

I thought I was a shame

At 17 Years Old

I tried to change

At 17 Years Old

I hated even my own name

 

But why is the pain still there?

Why isn't my life fair?

 

At 27 Years Old

I still feel the same

At 27 Years Old

I still carry the pain

At 27 Years Old

I'm trying to understand why

At 27 Years Old

I still wanted to die

At 27 Years Old

I'm wondering am I sane?

At 27 Years Old

Am I going insane?

At 27 Years Old

I found out that I did nothing wrong

At 27 Years Old

I didn't speak for so long

At 27 Years Old

I found out that it wasn't my fault

At 27 Years Old

I found out that it was "HE" who was insane

At 27 Years Old

I am making a stand

At 27 Years Old

I know I would be a better man

 

Than "HE" who laid a hand

on a poor 7 year old boy

Reviews

[Stacy A. Foster]

So true, and glad there's a follow-up with a realization in this. Adults can influence the young in many ways, and not all of them are good. Luckily some of us realize who the ones are who were really wrong. I like the repetition in this which helps get the point across (from child to adult). The sad thing is that this is probably true for thousands...

At 27 Years Old
I found out that it wasn't my fault
At 27 Years Old
I found out that it was "HE" who was insane
At 27 Years Old
I am making a stand
At 27 Years Old
I know I would be a better man

Cheers for this,
Stacy

[Lucky Me]

This is very powerful. Great therapeutic write for you. The end stanza where you talk of how you have grown up from a child, then a confused teen, then to a insightful man. It's good that you took all your pain and grew from it. That is so difficult.

[Closed profile]

This brought tears to my eyes.

No one should ever get beated, neither children nor adults.

Child abuse of any kind is horrible, it makes me very angry that some people think they have the right to slap because it is their own childrne. They somehow must think they own them, that they can do whatever they want.

I am glad you wrote this poem. It may open peoples eyes even more to how it makes children feel

I am very sorry if this happened to you (which most things we write about do)
It was the father that was sinsane, I agree with that
That little boy did nothing wrong, I am so glad he not was completely destroyed, but found out (though first many years later) that it was the father that was wrong.

[Tonya (the Night Writer..]

Awwww, this is so sad but the ending seems empowered, to finally realize it's not your fault and how wrong it was what happened. This is touching to me, you know why-because of what I have been through in my life. Thank you for sharing this, it meant a lot. hugs.

[An Ordinary Woman]

Being able to relate easily to this, I understand. It's painful and gave me goosebumps.

It takes a lot of courage to write about these things, yet I am grateful to have read it, its empowering.
Thank you for this powerful and moving poem.

[Patrica Alvarez]

I hate knowing things like this happen. You're very good at transitioning your peoms from one time to another. LIke how you started writing the peom from seven and ended with 27. I've noticed you write about painful subjects...

[Brianna Brie]

Heavy stuff, but somebody had to say it. Good read, you planted a seed.

[Nicole (Carpe Diem)]

this is such an emotional piece - sad yet such a piece that tells the truth about so much...
does that even make sense what i said...
i liked the repitition with the ages and the short lines that followed -- great piece

[Debra Stevens Edwards (..]

This is a very compelling piece and I do hope you have learned other ways to vent anger as it has been proven that in 8 out of 10 cases Abused children will become the abuser and I would hate for that to happen to you. Great write
Debby

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

Very nice .. not the subject but the poem.. it is sad.. and the little boy of 7, i feel for him.. now at 27 .. twenty years later.. he is a man and knows he was not to blame.. i like the repetition of at 7 and then at 27.. sad poem about a subject i hold dear to my heart. children, child abuse.. what a crime.

Chloe
xoxo

[Kristin]

You make a very powerful statement. Very moving.