i knew enough to know abuse was someone pounding their fists into someone else
and i knew enough to know the domestic violence shelter
was full of real people
they were filled with children i had played video games with while my mother
worked downstairs helping their mothers survive
what i did not know was that i was not only worth
physical kindness and decency
but that the way someone treated me was important too
that even though my father was good and kind and i had a shining example
and i knew
never to let someone hit me
the message never sunk in that i deserved even more
than just no violence
so that afterward, when my ex and i were buttoning our jeans
and he told me he had already screwed two women that same day
instead of closing the door on him forever
i told myself he had ended with the best
and that must mean
he loved me most
and you know, he never hit me
Photo Credit: gui.tavares Flickr via Compfight cc
((((((P O W E R F U L.
Superb.
Sad.
DV comes in MANY forms.
Subtle and powerful….I love this. ~D.