My Father was a Rapist!

...it is Father's Day today!

My Father was a rapist,

He's dead now,
I only saw him twice in my life.
Once behind the shutters of Her Majesty's finest,
Where he was serving 20 years,
And once as they took his wooden box,
Through the funeral doors.

I'm glad now and can rest at night,
I'm glad now that he can't rest in peace.
He was an evil man, lonely and angry,
My only hope is that none of this is hereditary.

He used to visit me,
Every night,
Shouting, threatening, staring,
Telling me I'm worthless and just as bad as him,
Telling me what he did to my mother,
And how she was worth less than the spit on his shoe.

Well father, daddy, pappa,
You're dead, you're dead, you're dead,
You can't visit me any more,
I've banned you from my head.

I hope it's cold down under,
Amongst the dirt and the worms,
You're living with the vermin and the ghouls,
No pity, remorse and no souls.
I hope it hurts you,
As much as you hurt me,
I hope you lose your freedom, pride and dignity,
Just like you did to me.

I've got a brother now who helps and knows not what you've done,
He knows nothing about what really killed our beloved only mum,
He thinks a heart attack was normal for a woman of her age, 
But knows nothing about living with a heavy, broken, stolen heart,
Like she did from that evil day.

This secret stays with mum and I,
Too many people have shed a tear already,
Too many have been left in pain,
Too many hated their own face,
Tainted by his shame.

Now I'm a proud new father,
About a month ago,
My baby he's got pale blue eyes like his father,
My father, my father, my father!
You see, when I look at him,
Those pale blue eyes they linger,
They stare back at me,
I don't know if it's love or pure evil,
That's looking back at me.

Reviews

[Bri 810]

I found this to be very insightful. So many times we talk about the victims (the woman) but completely forget that this criminal act can often affect generations to come.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Your courage is amazing. Great work!

[Luke L]

whoa! man this is frighteningly real! I applaud you being able to go to that place incredible bravery

[J. Kell]

My baby he's got pale blue eyes like his father,
My father, my father, my father! I really like this line the way it repeats and lets us get into the mind of the character. It is very challenging to write a poem this length and for it to tell the complete story so cohesively. Excellent Job.

[J_Star]

I just finished reading the chapter called "Rape" in the book "Far From the Tree." If you're interested in exploring the subject of children of rape, the book is a thorough resource. You touch on a few of the themes in this poem. I particularly like the last stanza.

[martinos74]

Hi Bobc,

Thanks for the kind words. Fortunately for me it was all fictional but was based on an experience someone went through that I heard on the news one morning and really touched me.

Some people really do have a power to survive though,

m

[bobc]

Reviewing pieces like this can be difficult. The subject is so hard and the writer/writing is so vulnerable. I've come across other poems here at WC that also had this quality of courage and determination and grief and anger. I'll say to you what I've said to them. In the face it, I can only stand back and admire the work.

Any words I can come up with, just seem to fall far short of the mark. ...bobc