Then and Now

 

it started when she opened her eyes
as long as she remembered
as a child of three
who only wanted hugs

a time to tell was it
or to share the bit
where fists
connected to cheeks

the punches that left breathless
ordeal of an evening
or a kick on the midriff
as she tried to stand up

was punishment so painful
for a dropped piece of fish
or leaving the door open
on a rainy day...

she wanted to curl up and die
blood flowing off her nose
or the tingling pain
drumming her black blue face

she wanted to end it many times
crying with her equally abused siblings
working the fields
under the blazing sun

when she walked away
at age fifteen
she swore a better life
without the abuses

years and years of hunger
loneliness and heartbreaks
she slowly left the ashes
and flew

writing saved her life
doodling on sandy beaches
later to the pages of a newspaper
yes writing saved her life.



*this poem was entered in a competition here. thank you for reading*