As you may or may not know, domestic violence is on the rise all over the world. I am in the process of writing some poems about divorce and domestic violence. I want to write a whole book of divorce haikus, actually. I just completed this one poem – well, it’s a series of haikus – about a woman who was in a domestic violence situation. The poem is called, divorce anonymous. The title Divorce Anonymous just really has to do with women all over the world, anonymous women, who are in marriages filled with domestic violence. The haiku element is really that I tried to keep the 5, 7, 5 count but it lacks other elements of the haiku, such as the nature element….so technically, these are not haikus. But, let me know what, if anything, you think about this poem:
Divorce Anonymous
Slap, bang, punch, crying
screaming woman’s voice pierce the
night as neighbors sleep
Kick, punch hair pulling
words so cruel they draw blood
call 911 please
Baby awakens
confused by the commotion
he begins to wail
David Letterman
cracks jokes on the tv set
while husband attacks
Wife, mother, bleeding
whimpers on the bed afraid
to anger him more
Intoxication
morphs her husband dear
into a monster
finally he stops.
his body slumps over her
his weight pins her down
soon he is snoring
animal asleep is he
gun beside his bed
Will she leave this time?
Has he violated her
enough with his beer?
Her baby needs her
Her baby needs his father
What can she give him?
She can give him love
But his father provides well
his abuse is a small price
Silently, she stands
She tiptoes to her baby
and holds him tightly
“Mommy will save you”
she says to the sobbing child
we will leave this place
It was a mistake
the marriage was a mistake
It is time to leave.
Stealthily she moves
away from the drunken beast
into the moonlight.
For all the women in the world in a marriage filled with domestic violence, please know that you can get out. It is up to you to just do it. Seek help. Get a divorce. Escape in the middle of the night. Do whatever you need to do to save yourself and your children.
Originally published December 15, 2010
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/raggle/3341639075/sizes/m/in/photostream/