Abuse

He said “it’s only words”
He said “I didn’t lay a finger on you”
He said “but calling names don’t hurt me”

She said “always words”
She said “a blow to my head”
She said “it hurts”

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Pebble

Pebble smooth and oh so flawless
Such appearance to deceive
The depths of pain endured by you
Is hard to dare conceive
Worn down to show no groove
Tussled hard and to and fro
Eroded and then molded
In the abusive tidal flow

Pebble small, inconsequential
Emotionally marred
Dislodged from all home comforts
Psychologically scarred
Weather beaten by the climate
With pressure set to high
Gnarled by hidden lashings
Of tooth for tooth and eye for eye

Pebble lying there unnoticed
Tossed out upon the shore
Disposed by wanton waters
Emotive tides, so very raw
Discarded in the sand dunes
The great expanse of beach
Now free but still so vulnerable
Yet now in safety’s reach

Pebble cared for, highly polished
What story can you tell
The depths of anguish in your path
The road away from hell
Now far from distant shoreline
Autonomous at last
A pebble of significance
Moving on from violent past

This poem reflects the violence some experience in the domestic setting and in particularly the hidden emotional abuse that is particularly prevalent at this time of year – how a pebble goes through so much bashing about as it is dragged along by fast flowing rushing rivers, beaten by the tides of the sea akin to the lives that so many experience at the hands of others who drag them in their wake or beat them with their emotional tide. To all those out there, I pray that this Christmas time you will find safety and peace, strength and support and that those pebbles will become significant once again to move forward into a happier new year.

Locally in Lincolnshire Moving Forward is a non-profit organisation set up by survivors of domestic abuse for other survivors. They offer support and empathy at a weekly meeting in central Lincoln. To find out more contact them through twitter @movingforward_1

We should point out that none of the poems on abuse and violence are about a specific individual  (click here for full disclaimer)