Hush Little Baby - A Poem About Domestic Abuse | Teen Ink

Hush Little Baby - A Poem About Domestic Abuse

April 17, 2011
By justaRENegade SILVER, Trenton, Georgia
justaRENegade SILVER, Trenton, Georgia
9 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia."


The makeup could only hide so much
Covering all the apologies he’d recited
He was just another explosive Casanova
“I’m sorry baby, it’ll never happen again.”
But lies don’t cover bruises
Regret doesn’t mask the pain
And your love has you blinded
Like Hellen Keller grasping in the dark

Staring at yourself in the mirror
You ignore the purple marks
Around your eye, the fingerprints
Burned like the bad memories into your wrists
Try to drown out the shattering glass
All your memories trampled in a fit of rage
Your life together fractured in a second

You know it’s unhealthy
All the hitting, all the screaming
But you can’t seem to get away
You’ve left a dozen times now
Only to come crawling back to
The world of pain you’re used to
But you insist there’s a side of him
That is loving, caring, and kind
Where is that side now?
When you’ve locked yourself in the bathroom
Again

You know there’s another life at risk
The baby growing in your belly
That is doomed to be brought up in
A hurricane, the storm that is your love
As he stands over you, finger in your face
A fist lands a punch, cracking drywall
Where your face should have been
Crying you beg, you plead
You scream, hands around throat
You fall into the dark

Eyes wide open now and the light is so bright
Heaven, a hospital, or just a dream?
Nurses standing over you, a doctor in a crisp white coat
“Yes, she’ll be okay. We see cases like this all the time.”
Wife beater, domestic abuse, hit her hard, cracked skull
All foreign words, some sort of new language
You insist you fell, tripped down the stairs earlier
A nurse is holding your arm, pointing to the bruises
Covering your arm, your wrist, motioning to your face
You cry, begging to see him, begging for one more chance.

Home again, home again
But is it really a home?
Eggshell floors, battered walls, bruised egos
A home coated in memories of a life before
Before the drinking, before the black outs
Before he began using you when HE wanted to
Liar, liar arms to the skies
All the cold of the winter in those deep blue eyes
Losing yourself in his pretty words
That once the baby comes there won’t be
Another single shout, he wants do to things right

Two years after baby, two more years of pain
He’s left more bruises than ever in his wake
A human hurricane destroying your life
The smell of liquor is strong on his breath
“Daddy, stop hurting mommy!”
The screams of your daughter echo in the room
Little cries for help, he’s let you go
Sliding to the floor you grab your baby
Dry her tears and hold her tight
“Hush now honey, everything is alright”
Suddenly there’s a scream
A bang, the final scene
It’s all over now, you didn’t even get to say goodbye
“Hush little girl, dry your eyes.”


The author's comments:
I have been in several abusive relationships and with all of the news about badly ending domestic situations I thought there needed to be more out there for victims and families alike.

Hope this means something to you or someone you love.

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