The Music Drowns Out Their Screams

She rolls with the punches,
a tsunami of his rage,
split lipped, and
ill-equipped to make
herself small enough
to hide in his dark shadow.

He guzzles
bravado from a bottle
full throttle, flexing
wrath across
her path, looking to
make his mark on soft
flesh that once yielded
to a gentler touch.

They are caught in
the devil's dance
where loathing and fear
snap to attention with
the crack of each beer.

Reviews

[Dr. Wood ?]

been down that road with my pregnant daughter and her man......Drink can just about Jekyll and Hyde anyone

[icelandicblue]

Yes it can Doc. It's the deadliest of dances.

[Angel]

I've seen this...my mother danced this devil's dance with my stepfather...and I did a step or two, myself, with my first husband. It is a deadly dance, indeed...a lock-step, with no ending...the dancers are doomed to keep repeating each figure, over and over again.
You have penned it accurately, my friend.
A dark and depressing write...but oh, so sadly true...

[icelandicblue]

I am sorry that this piece is so concrete for you. Thank you for reading it.

[David Scott]

I get sick thinking of a man being violent with a woman.
In the end, it is still a drowning of the soul.
Hard to take in, but a needed write.
Great work.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks David, I hung on to this one for a while unsure whether to post it. I appreciate your comment.

[Angi]

This holds so much for me, Blue. My momma and my poppa used to dance this way. Powerful poem that had me looking back. Angi~

[icelandicblue]

Thank you then Angi for reading and commenting on it. I am sorry it conjures up bad memories.

[Creepy Swine Guy]

Nice write ... well presented. I find that the best way NOT to be eaten by a shark, is to stay out of the water.

[icelandicblue]

Ain't it the truth CSG but it's a pattern that is hard to break for many.

[Sheila Kline]

It's like drinking and driving but in place.........a very bad combination when one drinks and has a penchant for violence to begin with. Too often surfaces the flip side of a personality and a person changes from seemingly innocent to a beast at the expense of another. When one is caught in a devil's dance, there can be no good found - only danger!!
A very gripping write!!

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Sheila,

So many suffer from domestic abuse.

[Baby Ricochet]

When a guy is arrested for domestic violence he goes down even if his victim doesn't want to press charges. That's progress

[icelandicblue]

Just happened up here, big story, Jerry Remy's son (a beloved red sox announcer) killed his girlfriend 2-3 days after being arrested. His catalyst is believed to be steroids. That whole pressing charges thing by the victim is the weak link. In some states cops can arrest on the evidence on the scene and do no require the victim to press charges the cops do.

[Baby Ricochet]

That's crazy....

[Relic]

The life you speak of is sadly too common. Alcohol and alcoholics in general destroy families. They disrupt and damage the ones they supposedly love. Nice job of penning this one.

[icelandicblue]

Alcohol just happens to be a legal drug and it wreaks havoc and harm on many many families.

[Rita L. Sev]

Harsh reality aptly penned here, Blue - a troubling lifestyle for too many, something I do not understand. But that bottle changes people, and the dance continues. A powerful write.

[icelandicblue]

Too many suffer this fate. Thanks Rita.

[Jack...]

Sad, I will never understand violence especially when it is between ones who loved each other at one time. Very dark Anne but nicely done.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Jack, often it is about power and not about love at all.