Answer me!! Don't cower down in fright!
I hear those words over and over in my head,
Every day is filled with dread.
Your words are like a stinging slap to my face,
But then, your hands always put me in my place.
Every word continues to beat me down,
As well as you jerking me all around.
My bruises are many, but I keep them hid,
I've had so many to be just a kid.
You make sure that you leave your mark,
If not on my skin, then deep in my heart.
There is nothing I can do to please you,
You find fault in everything I do.
I suffer the insults you hurl,
I am not your punching bag, I'm your little girl.
When I become a Mommy one day,
I will never treat my children this way.
I will use my hands to hold them close to me,
Not to beat them repeatedly.
One day you'll be sorry for what you've done,
When you are all alone after I'm gone.
I will leave and never look back,
You'll have no-one now to attack.
Maybe, just maybe, in time you'll see,
All the pain you inflicted on me.
But that would require you to feel,
And compassion isn't your greatest appeal.
I really wish Mom could have been on my side,
But she seemed to take it all in stride.
Her indifference hurt nearly as much,
As the bruises I endured with your touch.
Maybe when you were attacking me,
You were sparing her your brutality.
Or maybe she is as sick as you,
Or maybe she didn't know what to do.
My bruises will fade and go away,
However, the ones in my heart will forever stay.
Each day a little part of me died,
I have nothing left, no respect, no pride.
Debbie Dodson
May 16, 2000
