'A' Child Abuse

Shes been beaten and broken by the people she thought she loved....

She stirs from a slumber,
Her head pounding.
And her stomach in knots.
"Wh-where am I?"

She runs through the desolate house,
With her young mind,
Figures out she's all alone.
And never felt safer.

Her body covered in plum bruises,
Hair dripping with warm blood.
Her eyes swollen, hard to see in the dark,
Her clothes ripped, blotted with blood and dirty.

She loved and hated.
She loved her drunk-cheating mother,
This mother who took her anger out on little Sarah.
Beat her with empty bottles of cold drink that deluded her mother.

Her father who was a work-a-holick,
He beat Sarah's mother.
He killed their dog who peed in the living room.
He beat Sarah on his hard work.

She would cry at night.
Being beaten constantly by people she loved...
Then began to hate.
She'd draw pictures of two people covered in red with wild flames behind them.

She was in the dark,
hearing the water pipes clank.
The musty smell of blood.

She ran to the front door.
Locked.
Back door.
Locked.
Windows she could barely reach.
Locked.

She was trapped in her own hell.
Hell of her blood splattered on the floor,
droplets on some clothes.
She reached for a teddy that her daddy ripped in front of her.

She knew one way to save herself in this dark place,
She sucked in her sore breath.
She exhaled an amount of screams.
Hoping for the neighbours to hear.

She screamed for the neighbours to think in their minds,
"What's wrong with the man's daughter?"
People would think,
They'd run,
They'd save.

The dark became scary.
She sat on the sofa crouched in pain.
Her daddy kicked her in the gut.
Her mother pulled her hair by dragging her up and downstairs.

Awoken in the night.
A hush of voices.
Glass break.
A light.
"She's here."
A man says.
"Covered in cuts and bruises, her head is dripping with blood. She's about 6.."

Reviews

[Krista]

Omg. I hate to say this but this poem reminds me somewhat of how my life was before I moved out of my parents house. The yelling, the fighting. The nightmares that part of my life caused still haunt me. The memories that run in my head will never leave. Child abuse is a horrible and atrousiaus thing and the only safety that the kids or people who are abused will get is if their punisher/ abuser is thrown in jail or they are removed from that situation. Most people including me are afraid to call the authority meaning the cops or someone who could put and end to it because it will break the family up

[Sleepless]

the imagery as so intense that i almost cried of joy when i arrived to the lat line its beautiful ! well expressed and to the point where it describes the harsh reality of innocent children

[Dove]

This poem makes me so sad. I feel for anyone who has been abused for I know the horrible feeling. It makes me so angry when people abuse other people, seriously it pisses me off. But this is a great poem.

[Wolfwind]

A harsh reality splayed into ink. The piece was formed well and certainly carried the intended message.

[Leave me alone....]

awwwwwwww.....this makes me so sad! :'( i hate how people abuse their children, it makes me cry. Great job on the poem.

[Audrey Howitt]

This is a hell that is hard to imagine and hard to recover from--you did a great job on this piece although it is hard to read.

You got a wonderful dark and eerie air about this work of poetry here. I nod in respect as I read your good piece of literature here. ^_^
It really gives off that grime dirty feel of abuse, like a stain of red clay that you can't remove and leaves its residue of grit where its mark was left. Personally I scream in excellence for a perfect reading for the upcoming holiday (halloween), way to scare the kids away from soliciting unknown strangers on the front porch of some families' house.
I don't know if a child who goes through physical abusiveness would find themselves in amnesia after just being beating... personally speaking I dealt with it through rationalization, but everyone deals with things in their own way, and must admit I am a bit odd when it comes to human characteristics. Also, metaphors are a good use to replace overused terminology (blood) ;) when you find a word used more than three or four times in short to medium poetry it becomes quite a mental block or distraction for the reader. also, "work-a-holick" is actually "workaholic"... and don't take this as grammar/spelling-nazism, this is a writing community after all, just being constructive in the efforts of helping a fellow talented writer/poet.
Also, might I add, do love the use of "locked door" in a way sort of reminiscent to the format of percussive poetry, it really swells the environment of fear surrounding the poem. I say, all in all, great poetry my friend. an 85/100 I think.
Man, the feel of this really reminds me of this jam, just really blows the poem up even more for me.. though theme-wise unrelated, tone is really a beefer. :p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TibbQbgfTY8

[Muse]

The reality of this message is sick and true. I would rather spend my taxpayer money to FIX adults such as this....they should never be allowed to have children of their own.

[Gheeneil]

I could see vivid images you've woven in this piece. Such a horrible encounter for a child of 6. Too young to have a taste of cruelty at such an innocent age.