Dry-Fire

A difficult place for a woman to be.

She sits, emotionally bland,
Speaking mechanically;
Her right jaw, slightly misaligned,
From calcifications of former fractures;
And he is left-handed.
Lime-green circles about her
Distant, blue eyes indicate
That she has pleased him
This past week.
She believes that she
Is Improving, is better;
As the distance between
The necessary corrections
Is elongating, and she doesn’t
Nap as often.
He seems to love her more;
And frequently resorts
To audible amendments,
Or is too fatigued, himself,
To properly intervene
In her enlightenment.

She inhales, fidgets, re-adjusts,
To breathe without pain;
Calmly expressing accolades for
The strength, perseverance,
Of her son who doesn’t fail;
But weeps, in anonymity,
For her daughter who must
Have inherited her propensity
Toward weakness, malfunction.
Perhaps, over time,
He will see fit to guide
Their daughter with
Identical acts of love;
And she will be well.

She stares out the window,
Toward the windswept willow;
Catatonic, citing that
Past years, learning years,
Were resonating like the
Dry-fire echo of the
Empty Chamber in a game
Of Russian-Roulette.
The sound, repeated and
Sustained in dull memory;
The clicks that fed
The ugly tomorrows;
But her eyes sparkle as
She admits to a yearning,
For the strike of the pin
To fresh primer;
And she may only regret
That she will not hear
The Sound
Heralding her freedom.

Author's Note

Copyright 2010, Fegger

Reviews

[FireWoman]

Powerful imagery, Fegger. The cycle can be broken, if only they can hear their own voices instead of the abuser. Woman must guide their daughters away from these types of men, and their sons to not become one. The abusers tend never to change, they are either far too damaged themselves, or plain blissful in other's pain.

[ice]

Wow! Heavy stuff here, and very well written.
I am glad that Tate reccomended that I read this, and happy that I did.
ice

[bonbon7810]

This is a great piece! It's so sad things like this happen in the world and mostly behind closed doors in families unsuspected!

[Calypso]

So powerful

[Mark]

This ripped my guts out. My mother was a victim of abuse, but, Bless God, she never was pushed to that ultimate step you denote here. How very sad, that your protagonist had come to believe the deceptions foisted on her, even to crave them for her own daughter! Thus is abuse perpetuated. I will have to thank Tate profusely for turning me on to this piece, and you.

[Anatomical Grip]

amazing writing, and very thought out

[Richard Williams]

Sharp and engrossing. "...calcifications of former fractures" is very fine. An excellent piece.

[Dressed in Poetry]

Beautifully haunting. I love the time you spend on the colors and the way that she moves. It makes me feel like I see her and know her.

[Jeff Bresee]

Near perfect way to carry this message. Great work.

[Revolutionary]

If you have ever been there you can understand.I read a book called learned helplessness.I went there in your poem.poetry like this helps people who have never experienced such pain sympathetic