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Image for the poem inventor of wife-beating

inventor of wife-beating

you never drink with me. you sit there & watch, as I suck back shot  
after shot of this rotgut whiskey, at this old splintered table in this  
dim kitchen with no windows you can’t even breathe in here!  
but when I jerk my head up, you look down at your hands in your lap.  
 
who are you? are you Stella, who always depended on the kindness  
of strangers? there ain’t no strangers to help you baby. & if I ain’t  
Brando, I’m his fuckin dead brother…  
 
I’d throw my whiskey in your face, but it’s too good to waste on a  
whore like you.  
 
& my hands, what good are my hands? I need to get the misery out.  
thru my hands. I need to put it on you. so I get up, knock down my chair,  
stumble over to you. & I grab your hair again, & I slap your face again.  
and again. and again!  
 
but you never cry. is it pride, or are you dry inside? how much do I have to  
beat you to break your face into little girl tears…  
 
I want to see you cry.  
just once, I want to see you cry…  
 
 
 
(It was Blanche DuBois, not her sister Stella, who said, 'I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.' The character in the poem isn't particularly literate. His memory is vague.)  
 
  
Written by JohnFeddeler
Published | Edited 18th Feb 2013
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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